Do you think FP+ will come to DL?

[hjgaus]

Everyone needs to stop freaking out about this cause it has not happened yet!
Although if and when it does (So Cal local & AP holder) I'll just have to go with the flow! Already have done this last December as part of their (WDW) testing out (we are DVC members) and it was great! Yes it had a few glitches but for the most part it was awesome passing up some really long wait times at certain rides! We even stayed off site for 5 days but STILL got to use fastpass + due to being AP holders! Now we will be going back to WDW this Christmas and New Years Eve and it will be open to everyone so I'll let you know if was a success or failure for us!

 

[HydroGuy]

Everyone needs to stop freaking out about this cause it has not happened yet!

Everyone is "freaking out"? If someone asking a good question about a controversial topic affecting WDW today is considered freaking out, then I guess. Otherwise this just looks to me like a normal thread on DIS with a lot of thoughtful discussion.

Although if and when it does (So Cal local & AP holder) I'll just have to go with the flow! Already have done this last December as part of their (WDW) testing out (we are DVC members) and it was great! Yes it had a few glitches but for the most part it was awesome passing up some really long wait times at certain rides! We even stayed off site for 5 days but STILL got to use fastpass + due to being AP holders! Now we will be going back to WDW this Christmas and New Years Eve and it will be open to everyone so I'll let you know if was a success or failure for us!

The folks who have their FPs disappear before their trip and/or have had to call Disney over 10 times to get it resolved are not saying it is great. The folks who show up to use their FPs and then the system says the FPs are gone - or one person in the group has their FP gone - are not saying its great. The ones who feel like they have to fight a buggy app on their smartphone and waste a lot of time do not feel like it is great.

It does go smoothly for some folks and some or maybe most of those say it is great. Right now it seems like a mixed bag and that Disney is working hard to improve things. I hope it goes well for you this holiday season!

 

[nervous1sttimer]

We were at WDW in Feb 2014, had zero issues with the wifi and generally loved FP+. We had also visited in Nov 2012 pre-FP+ so we had something to compare it to.

As someone who is paying way more to travel to DLR than I do to WDW (comparatively speaking - WDW trips are longer and so end up costing about the same, AND we stay onsite in Deluxe resorts), I wish DLR had some of the preplanning capability of WDW. I am not enjoying the wishy-washiness of the DLR planning and waiting so long for park hours and entertainment schedules. Having incorrect information all over the wdwinfo site has only made things worse.

I'm sure we'll still love DLR, but I also wish it had FP+.

 

[Suvadoo]

We were at WDW in Feb 2014, had zero issues with the wifi and generally loved FP+. We had also visited in Nov 2012 pre-FP+ so we had something to compare it to.

As someone who is paying way more to travel to DLR than I do to WDW (comparatively speaking - WDW trips are longer and so end up costing about the same, AND we stay onsite in Deluxe resorts), I wish DLR had some of the preplanning capability of WDW. I am not enjoying the wishy-washiness of the DLR planning and waiting so long for park hours and entertainment schedules. Having incorrect information all over the wdwinfo site has only made things
worse.

I'm sure we'll still love DLR, but I also wish it had FP+.

Have you been to DLR before? I know I love vacation planning, but it's just not needed for a DLR trip.
I've read several posts about people who couldn't even enter the WDW parks because their Magic Bands were invalid. One poster was from yesterday! I'm glad your trips have been glitch free, but there are a lot of people who aren't quite as lucky as you.

I agree with you regarding DLR posting park hours, it is frustrating having to wait. But WDW just changed their EMH hours at the last minute and it botched up plans for a lot of people.

 

[Suvadoo]

Everyone is "freaking out"? If someone asking a good question about a controversial topic affecting WDW today is considered freaking out, then I guess. Otherwise this just looks to me like a normal thread on DIS with a lot of thoughtful discussion.



The folks who have their FPs disappear before their trip and/or have had to call Disney over 10 times to get it resolved are not saying it is great. The folks who show up to use their FPs and then the system says the FPs are gone - or one person in the group has their FP gone - are not saying its great. The ones who feel like they have to fight a buggy app on their smartphone and waste a lot of time do not feel like it is great.

It does go smoothly for some folks and some or maybe most of those say it is great. Right now it seems like a mixed bag and that Disney is working hard to improve things. I hope it goes well for you this holiday season!

Thanks HydroGuy, I didn't think anyone on this thread was freaking out either.

 

[hjgaus]

Still sounds like a MILD freak out for SOME people just perhaps not you which is good!
I just hope IF and WHEN DLR does switch to a similar situation that most people do not lose there love for going to Disney parks. Also thanks HydroGuy, Hope our trip goes well too BUT if it doesn't due to FP+ oh well, it would be our 1st unsuccessful trip ever BUT we just will keep on!

We personally have spent a LOT of our $$$ and time to NOT worry about the many ways Disney is "trying" to make things better for us! Maybe it's just a ploy for more $$ for them but it seems to be working since we are STILL hanging around!!! That's why we are DVC members! (sometimes I think I have the word .... sucker on my forehead! LOL!!)

I love all things Disney BUT I'm NOT just ALL ABOUT doing RIDES so with that said I am repeating " Guess we WILL just GO WITH THE FLOW!!"
Life is too short so enjoy whatever makes U happy!
Even if that means spending your hard earned money at a NON DISNEY park!

PS. I will definitely report back on our holiday trip good OR bad so we call all see if there is any progress in this system or more set backs to keep it from showing up @ DLR.

 

[Pucka1378]

We were at WDW in May and loved FP+ I think it worked great. We changed all our FP times the day before or the day of to much better times.

Granted we are not big planners and when we were there most of the rides we had FP+ for we walked right on and rode which then enabled us to switch our FP to other attractions.

I think it worked great. When at DLR we never get FP because quite frankly we are to lazy.. if we happen to be by a kiosk with no line then we may get one. In general we don't. FP+ we would actually use.

 

[hyperminimalism]

Speaking for a lifetime, Disneyland Lover, and never being at another park.... all this talk of making ADR'S, more than 60 days out, and making a "reservation" to ride a ride, is just plain CRAZY TALK!!!
Us laid back West Coaters cannot even wrap our brains around all this planning... Its not needed in California, and I for 1....... and maybe more from this board, Hope it NEVER comes West!

--Lori

Haha, Lori you are so absolutely right. The majority of park goers there are your laid back locals who swing in when they have a few hours to kill. And although the park gets a lot of visitors from out of town, it's still a rather relaxed atmosphere. As someone who was born and raised in California who doesn't live there anymore, I go there knowing I can plan things out with the FP system they have there now AND be spontaneous when I'm killing time waiting for the two hour mark to pass or when that time limit goes by when I can get another FP ticket.

It's just a completely different environment than the park in Florida, and with both DL/DCA being so close and with the option to park hop on a whim, it doesn't make sense to bring it over as a clone. If it came over to DL, they would have to figure out a way to work it out for the kinds of guests visiting the park along with maintaining that feel of spontaneity for those of us who want to be able to go on whatever rides we want.

 

[Suvadoo]

Still sounds like a MILD freak out for SOME people just perhaps not you which is good!
.

I still disagree. I don't think anyone is " Freaking Out". I think everyone is sharing their opinions, which is the purpose of this discussion.

 

[hjgaus]

I still disagree. I don't think anyone is " Freaking Out". I think everyone is sharing their opinions, which is the purpose of this discussion.

And thank YOU very much for sharing YOUR opinion!!

I LOVE ALL THE SHARING & CARING FROM THESE DISCUSSIONS!!!

Have a great day!!!

 

[Suvadoo]

You too

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I didn't even freak out when it was introduced to WDW. My freak out came when my relatives FREAKED OUT on me about WHO decided THAT tier 1 and so forth.

Based on my experience, I would freak out if DLR decided to pick it up the same way it is now. I wasn't freaking out until I used it and it stunk. I have never seen so many lines in my life. Even at Innonventions side-show attractions. Or lines spilling out of Spaceship Earth and 50 min waits for Maelstrom...

Its whack. It needs to get fixed and like a previous poster mentioned, they changed all their times to suit them anyway. Which shows that booking 60 days out is just stupid. I would support a system that allows booking a week in advance, but I'd be even happier with one that did the day of or 24 hours. Nobody's plans are that set in stone. We had to move ours a week and change our days around our cruise because of massive storm systems. Not to mention that when WE came on time, the rode broke down, and we had to come back two hours later anyway. What's the point of a reservation.

I no likey.

 

[mesaboy2]

We were at WDW in Feb 2014, had zero issues with the wifi and generally loved FP+. We had also visited in Nov 2012 pre-FP+ so we had something to compare it to.

As someone who is paying way more to travel to DLR than I do to WDW (comparatively speaking - WDW trips are longer and so end up costing about the same, AND we stay onsite in Deluxe resorts), I wish DLR had some of the preplanning capability of WDW. I am not enjoying the wishy-washiness of the DLR planning and waiting so long for park hours and entertainment schedules. Having incorrect information all over the wdwinfo site has only made things worse.

I'm sure we'll still love DLR, but I also wish it had FP+.

I think my big takeaway with FP to FP+ is this: for the convenience of getting most any 3 FPs you want in advance, it makes you pre-plan (for certain attractions) your days using a much more complicated system. Over on the WDW side of these boards, we field literally dozens of questions daily still from people asking the same questions over and over again, and variations of the same questions that apply to their particular stay. Popular questions usually involve split stays, onsite vs offsite, how come I can't choose Attraction A, what if some in my group have different tickets, why does the site work better than the app, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum. The answer before was be in the park, go to the FP machine. If you want a popular attraction, go early. That was about it. Before, I could fully explain FP in a couple of medium-sized paragraphs. Now, not so much.

I think for the average guest this is not an upgrade, but at best a sideways move to a system that is a whole lot harder to figure out. I think corporate Disney is who wins with the FP+ system.

 

[Suvadoo]

Do you think first time visitors to WDW and/or DLR will understand and be able to utilize FP+?

 

[mom2rtk]

After reading other posts about FP+ and the amount of planning it takes, do you think it will be implemented at DL?

If so, how do you think it would change the way people tour the parks?

I think the biggest obstacle to implementing FP+ at DLR is the lack of room to install FP return lines. And honestly, I'm not sure how they would overcome that. The key to having enough FP slots to allow people to preschedule at WDW has been to attach FP to everything that's not tied down.

Will they do it? If they think it will make them more money, they will find a way to do it. Or if they can find a way for it to just look like it's making them more money they will do it.

As a refugee from the WDW boards may I suggest we all just enjoy the fact it is still a "what if."
I'm not the only one switching coasts over this thing.

I've been seeing lots of familiar faces over here!

I'm making hay while I can and heading back west again this year. Of course, it's not as big a deal to us since we live smack dab in the center of the country.

Do you think first time visitors to WDW and/or DLR will understand and be able to utilize FP+?

I think the first time visitor will settle for whatever Disney offers them. No way will they catch on that if the high demand attraction doesn't come up, there are lots of tricks to try and find a slot.

 

[hjgaus]

Do you think first time visitors to WDW and/or DLR will understand and be able to utilize FP+?

Do you mean .....1st time visitors who don't know anything about Disney
OR
1st time visitor who has been waiting ALL their LIFE to experience Disney?

 

[Suvadoo]

Do you mean .....1st time visitors who don't know anything about Disney
OR
1st time visitor who has been waiting ALL their LIFE to experience Disney?

I meant someone who has done minimal research and who isn't a fanatical nutcase, like me.

 

[zanzibar138]

I meant someone who has done minimal research and who isn't a fanatical nutcase, like me.

*Most* people I know would just rock up to the gates on a day trip from LA if/when they feel like going and buy a ticket. Most people from Australia have no idea how big DLR is (they compare it to our theme parks, which I'd say are more Knotts sized), and don't even think about adding extra days, or even staying in Anaheim as opposed to LA. My SIL did DLR as part of a Contiki tour, between Christmas and NY and, assuming that those crowds were standard, decided that she didn't like DLR and wouldn't bother to go back. It was only after she saw our photos from Feb that she realised she had been at a ridiculously crowded time, and really enjoyed her trip to DLP that I helped her plan.

There is NO WAY for those people to know that they should be booking FPs in advance.

I don't really know whether the general population in the US are a bit wiser about the Disney parks. However, just going by things I see on TV like the Big Bang episode where all the girls go to Disneyland and get princess makeovers, I'm thinking maybe not

 

[Suvadoo]

*Most* people I know would just rock up to the gates on a day trip from LA if/when they feel like going and buy a ticket. Most people from Australia have no idea how big DLR is (they compare it to our theme parks, which I'd say are more Knotts sized), and don't even think about adding extra days, or even staying in Anaheim as opposed to LA. My SIL did DLR as part of a Contiki tour, between Christmas and NY and, assuming that those crowds were standard, decided that she didn't like DLR and wouldn't bother to go back. It was only after she saw our photos from Feb that she realised she had been at a ridiculously crowded time, and really enjoyed her trip to DLP that I helped her plan.

There is NO WAY for those people to know that they should be booking FPs in advance.

I don't really know whether the general population in the US are a bit wiser about the Disney parks. However, just going by things I see on TV like the Big Bang episode where all the girls go to Disneyland and get princess makeovers, I'm thinking maybe not

That's what I thought, judging from the people I see in the parks wandering around clueless. I just can't imagine spending a lot of money on tickets and then not doing research before visiting, but I guess there's a lot of people like that.

 

[DLR29]

I haven't read every post so I apologize if someone else has already shared this. During my time as a cast member at WDW I was told by my manager that the reason MyMagic+ would not be heading over to Disneyland had to do with with the two different environments. If you've seen pictures of the new turnstiles at the WDW parks, there's no barrier to keep people out. Simply someone standing with an iPod touch in a special case dealing with 4 people entering at the touch points at a time. Now, to get to the main gates of the Magic Kingdom is a slightly grueling process, either you've driven from off property to the TTC and paid $16 for parking, waited for the monorail, gotten to the front gates, gone through bag check, etc. Or you're coming from on property and added a bus ride to the TTC. Basically, my point is, the only people going through the process of getting to those main gates are (for the vast, vast majority) people on Disney World vacations who have travelled a ways to be there, tickets in hand.

Now, in comparison to DLR, the concern (at least that was shared with me) is that the DL and DCA gates are very exposed to the street and these very open turnstiles are not safe given the ease of just about anyone to push through. I'm not making any judgement about the people of Southern California vs. Central Florida, just that the concern of many, many, people attempting to just push in off the street in a very highly populated area is quite real.

This.

I guess I'm a little late to the convo, but I just returned from 2 weeks at WDW and I tried MyMagic+ for the first time. When I was entering the parks, I could never see them recreating the same kind of turnstiles at DLR. People would definitely sneak their way in.

As for FP+, I directly observed the increases in wait times for rides like Spaceship Earth. I did like that we could show up to a park in the afternoon and already have FPs. Our family never really had any major issues with the app, so everything went pretty smoothly.

I'm confident that MyMagic+ as it works at WDW will never come out to DLR. There are just too many variables that don't cross over between the two resorts. I do, however, think that DLR will get some kind of RFID admission tickets in the near future. Honestly, MyMagic+ isn't for the guests' convenience, it's to collect data about you. And I'm sure they would love to do that at DLR as well. My guess is that all tickets will have the RFID chip in them.

The future of the DLR FP system that I predict is one that is similar to WDW's now but without the advance reservations via the app. I can see them eliminating the paper tickets and setting up centralized FP kiosks where guests can go and plan out their 3 (or however many) FPs for the day (and they should definitely allow you to park hop). And I can see them adding "FP+" to some rides that might have some extra space, but definitely not almost every attraction like at WDW.