Do you like the Fastpass+ system?

[srauseo]

But at least at DL you can still ride all the headliners by fastpass in a single day (no tiers or limit on rerides with advance FPs).

This was not my experience at all. We were never able to get a FP for Radiator Springs Racers. One morning the ride was down at opening so we had to make repeated trips back to the kiosks to see if they were distributing FP yet. We went back at least three times with no luck and by the 4th time we were able to return they were all gone. The second day we got to the park late (because of terrible service at Steakhouse 55) and, again, they were all gone. We ended up using the single rider line and waiting 45 minutes. We were also never able to get FP for Space Mountain (which we never ended up getting on) or Big Thunder. By the time we got there they were gone. If I had been able to schedule these in advance I would have. I didn't like being subject to the luck of the draw. If we went to get a FP but the current window was during our ADR then we just wasted time walking to the ride and would have to go back again later at which point they would all be gone. Totally inefficient. So much crisscrossing that ended up being in vain.

Conversely, at WDW using FP+ and a good touring plan I can still accomplish a ton. One EMH morning in mid-August we went on 5 rides before 9am (Pooh, Barnstormer, Dumbo, Tea Cups and Carrousel). My niece had a 9am FP to meet princesses while we had waffles at Sleepy Hollow. Then we rode HM, iasw, Little Mermaid and did ETwB all before checking in early for 11:30 lunch at CP. After a long break back at the hotel we used FP to ride Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Space Mountain in the evening. We also did Tiki Room and Magic Carpets, and had dinner at Pecos Bill (the longest line we waited in), and got Dole Whips. My nephew and Mom also used a FP for Speedway. I'd say that's a solid day.

 

[AngiTN]

Just commenting in general, but saying one likes FP+ but doesn't like the tiering makes no sense to me.

Tiering is FP+ in those parks that have it. If you don't like the tiering, you don't like FP+ (IMHO of course )

I don't see it that way at all. I can like something even if I don't like EVERYTHING about it. There is much more to FP+ than just tiering.
I love DH but I don't love everything he does. Like dip skoal. Doesn't stop me from loving him. Not liking a piece of FP+ is the same thing in my eyes.
I still see FP+ as an improvement in more ways than it's a drawback.
That is how I determine if I like something overall. Not by 1 aspect.

 

[AngiTN]

This was not my experience at all. We were never able to get a FP for Radiator Springs Racers. One morning the ride was down at opening so we had to make repeated trips back to the kiosks to see if they were distributing FP yet. We went back at least three times with no luck and by the 4th time we were able to return they were all gone. The second day we got to the park late (because of terrible service at Steakhouse 55) and, again, they were all gone. We ended up using the single rider line and waiting 45 minutes. We were also never able to get FP for Space Mountain (which we never ended up getting on) or Big Thunder. By the time we got there they were gone. If I had been able to schedule these in advance I would have. I didn't like being subject to the luck of the draw. If we went to get a FP but the current window was during our ADR then we just wasted time walking to the ride and would have to go back again later at which point they would all be gone. Totally inefficient. So much crisscrossing that ended up being in vain.

Conversely, at WDW using FP+ and a good touring plan I can still accomplish a ton. One EMH morning in mid-August we went on 5 rides before 9am (Pooh, Barnstormer, Dumbo, Tea Cups and Carrousel). My niece had a 9am FP to meet princesses while we had waffles at Sleepy Hollow. Then we rode HM, iasw, Little Mermaid and did ETwB all before checking in early for 11:30 lunch at CP. After a long break back at the hotel we used FP to ride Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Space Mountain in the evening. We also did Tiki Room and Magic Carpets, and had dinner at Pecos Bill (the longest line we waited in), and got Dole Whips. My nephew and Mom also used a FP for Speedway. I'd say that's a solid day.

Same here. We found paper FP a negative at DL. We wanted to ride RSR at night but didn't want to wait for hours in line. There is really no way to pull a paper FP for a night ride. Not without pure luck. Nor can you get a FP if you show up an hour after the park opens. I just can't see how that is a better system. But, that's ok. FP+ isn't for everyone. Paper FP isn't for everyone. I venture to guess there is nothing in this world that is liked by everyone.

 

[RetroCOTfan]

Tiering is FP+ in those parks that have it. If you don't like the tiering, you don't like FP+ (IMHO of course )

Can't say that I follow your logic.

Stitch's Great Escape is an attraction in the MK. I don't like Stitch's Great Escape. Yet I still like the MK.

Being critical of portions of something you like doesn't mean you don't like it, it merely means that you are looking at it in an (at least somewhat) objective manner.

 

[elaine amj]

Interesting that something that was almost universally hated when it was first announced has garnered so many supporters now. Count me as one - I was a super FP- user and have been overall pleased with FP+. It did change our touring style though and we don't ride the headliners as many times as we did with FP-. So that is a loss. But we are good with it and overall, we enjoy Magic Bands and FP+.

 

[Roxyfire]

I really enjoyed FP+ but never used the previous system. The last time I went before last October was 1995 so you just stood in line. I'm big on getting places early so I usually schedule my earliest for 10:45 or 11. I leave the mid afternoon open for lunch, resort time, more FP in the current park or park hopping elsewhere. Obviously some days you do better than others but even when I had to move things around we generally got what we wanted. Plus we're not allergic to standing in line which very much helps too!

 

[marx]

It took a few trips using FP+ before we began to like it. We used to arrive early and gather Paper FP's to use latter in the day. For us, the biggest drawback for FP+ is when you combine the tiering system with a short trip and have to do more than one tier one a day.

 

[MerMermaid79]

We just came back from a trip last week and LOVED the FP+ system.
On day 1 at MK, we rode 14 rides in just Fantasyland and Tomorrowland by doing a combination of PPO breakfast and FP+ - and this was our first time using FP. Our last trip was in Sept 2005 and being a low crowd time and us being total newbies, we had no idea what FPs were. The convenience of booking and updating FPs from your phone is HUGE! The only ride we missed was Buzz Lightyear because we could not get a FP+ and the line was 45 mins long. We did not wait more than 15 minutes for any ride. Plus this included a stroller nap for my 3 year old and no rides after 6.30 when we went to dinner at Skipper canteen (one of the best dinners of our trip)
And it didn't require that much planning - we had booked our trip about 45 days in advance and I spent around 3 hours total planning the entire trip and booking FPs - which I would do for any other vacation too. For me, I need to have a general idea of where I am going to be and what I am going to be doing at any given time to fully enjoy myself - even if it is enjoying a Mojito on the beach.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I don't see it that way at all. I can like something even if I don't like EVERYTHING about it. There is much more to FP+ than just tiering.
I love DH but I don't love everything he does. Like dip skoal. Doesn't stop me from loving him. Not liking a piece of FP+ is the same thing in my eyes.
I still see FP+ as an improvement in more ways than it's a drawback.
That is how I determine if I like something overall. Not by 1 aspect.

FP+ spreads the FPs around in advance, which can be a benefit. But it couldn't work without the tiering in the parks that have it. Saying you like FP+ but don't like the tiering is like saying I would like FP+ if I could book ten FP+s a day with no tiering. (I would like that! ) I totally hear your point though, I just personally find it tricky to apply that logic to FP+ as it is

 

[Texans_loyal]

on our last trip, we rode Everest 16 times..in a row! every time we would scan our magic bands, i would immediately grab the next fastpass. The next day we did space mountain 4 times and dwarfs twice. i always plan all of our fastpasses for early morning that way we get new options fast.
no way that would've happened at DL.

 

[BudgieMama]

on our last trip, we rode Everest 16 times..in a row! every time we would scan our magic bands, i would immediately grab the next fastpass. The next day we did space mountain 4 times and dwarfs twice. i always plan all of our fastpasses for early morning that way we get new options fast.
no way that would've happened at DL.

We did that with Space Mountain. Pulled 8 sets of FP over about 2.5 hours. Scan band, grab new FP as we walked through the queue. The Standby line was still running around 75 minutes and we were lapping people multiple times. It was fairly late in the evening too, so couldn't fathom why people weren't trying for their own FP!

 

[Klayfish]

on our last trip, we rode Everest 16 times..in a row! every time we would scan our magic bands, i would immediately grab the next fastpass. The next day we did space mountain 4 times and dwarfs twice. i always plan all of our fastpasses for early morning that way we get new options fast.
no way that would've happened at DL.

No way that would have happened for me either...because as much as I like roller coasters, I would have hurled after about 6 or 7 times in a row of EE.

 

[erc]

FP+ spreads the FPs around in advance, which can be a benefit. But it couldn't work without the tiering in the parks that have it. Saying you like FP+ but don't like the tiering is like saying I would like FP+ if I could book ten FP+s a day with no tiering. (I would like that! ) I totally hear your point though, I just personally find it tricky to apply that logic to FP+ as it is

The whole reason for tiering at the parks that have them is there are not enough headline ride attractions at those parks. If every park had as many rides as MK there would be no tiering as there would be enough headliner ride choices to spread the initial 3 FP around.

Epcot is cool, but it is really not a "rides" park. Add 2 or 3 more headline rides and they might be able to remove the tiering.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We did that with Space Mountain. Pulled 8 sets of FP over about 2.5 hours. Scan band, grab new FP as we walked through the queue. The Standby line was still running around 75 minutes and we were lapping people multiple times. It was fairly late in the evening too, so couldn't fathom why people weren't trying for their own FP!

Because they already had a fastpass that they hadn't used. They were waiting for the time to come up. Or at least that would have been me.

 

[disneyseniors]

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.

I agree with a lot of the reasons you don't like fp+. One I might add is: What if someone gets sick and you can't make that coveted fp and can't get another?, and what if you just decide that "hey, I really loved AK yesterday, why don't we do it again"? But you can't because you had fp lined up at 60 days for those must have ones. I guess it makes the every day, normal occurring situations much more stressful to handle.

 

[BudgieMama]

Because they already had a fastpass that they hadn't used. They were waiting for the time to come up. Or at least that would have been me.

This was around 9.30pm onwards... I knew some would have other FP, but it would surprise me if they all did!

 

[AquaDame]

This was around 9.30pm onwards... I knew some would have other FP, but it would surprise me if they all did!

Maybe there weren't enough for the size of their group?

 

[Texans_loyal]

No way that would have happened for me either...because as much as I like roller coasters, I would have hurled after about 6 or 7 times in a row of EE.

lol it was our last day at Disney. when life hands you fastpasses...

 

[trvlgirlmq]

After reading the whole thread it seems that the people who really like FP+ are the ones who go every year of more than once a year. For most of us this is not the case and this new system seems to pretty much suck. I'm dreading my trip because we do see this as a theme park for rides. I am not spending thousands of dollars to sit around looking at details. If you can go so often that you can do that then great but for most of us these trips are few and far between.

 

[BudgieMama]

After reading the whole thread it seems that the people who really like FP+ are the ones who go every year of more than once a year. For most of us this is not the case and this new system seems to pretty much suck. I'm dreading my trip because we do see this as a theme park for rides. I am not spending thousands of dollars to sit around looking at details. If you can go so often that you can do that then great but for most of us these trips are few and far between.

I'm not a multi-trip, every year guest, and I love it. I loved it as a first timer (much less intimidating than the old system, which was in place when we booked, as I didn't need to be able to find multiple locations in a timely manner in order to gain FP) on a "once in a lifetime" trip. Loved it on my second trip, too, as ride junkies who had saved for 2 years to go back. We're not multi-trip-per-year guests (flights from the UK are blooming expensive) and we are people who like to ride, ride ride, and not just sit around looking at the pretty. I am (thanks to some enormous good fortune) able to go two years running this time, but that won't be the case again unless I win the lottery jackpot, and after this summer, we aren't planning on being back before 2020 at the earliest. Still love the system, having most recently used the legacy FP system at Disneyland Paris (as first timers) and finding it a) inflexible b) inconvenient and c) a huge time/energy waster as we trekked to a particular ride only to find there were no more FP available.