This exemplifies my problem with the system. FP- was equal for all guests. FP+ is not. It is difficult for me to warm up to a system that charges people the same amount of money yet provides them entirely different experiences. If and when they get back to equality, I will have a more positive outlook.
Also, look at how many positive replies mention or end by saying: "But I'd like to see the limit of 3 raised and no tiering." Interesting.
Q: What do you call FP+ with more FPs and no tiering?
A: FP-
I don't mind the concept, and don't mind the technology though it is clearly not ready for prime time. But what I do not like are the unintended consequences which should have been anticipated by experienced people. Those include the greater need for early park arrival (as opposed to more relaxed arrival times which I think is what they were shooting for); longer Standby lines caused by adding many more FP eligible rides; and the horrid FP+ return lines that are 15+ minutes long and form outside of the attraction queue areas spilling into the park. This last problem is fixable. The second problem is fixable if they eliminate FP eligibility on rides that don't need it. The first problem will remain as long as tiers remain. Want to ride Soarin' and Test Track on the same day without a huge wait? Better arrive at RD. This seems to defeat one of the main purposes of FP+.
People who stay on-site are paying a premium. For some time, Disney has provided a perk of Extra Magic Hours to these guests. FP+ reservation system is yet another perk being offered to guests staying on-site.....similar to Universal. Moreover, even as a family who frequently stays at Swan & Dolphin (technically, off-site for FP+ reservation purposes), I am all for FP+ only being available to on-site guests.
Tiering and FP+ limits are two separate problems.
Tiering stops first-comers from grabbing all of the FP+ for E-ticket attractions in Parks with few attractions. My opinion is that this is only a problem during peak crowd periods. I'll guess that at some point in the future, Tiering will only happen on peak crowd days - like Disney raising menu prices or 'blackout' for some Tables in Wonderland restaurants for a select few days. Tiering mitigates the problem you mentioned of long stand-by lines for attractions most in demand.
FP+ limitations - until Disney decides who will be able to receive FP+, limiting to 3/day is reasonable. However, once the Parks are open and a family has used all 3 FP+, then I believe these same people should be able to get additional FP+ if available. Plainly and simply, Disney prefers that potential FP+ go unused instead of allowing late-comers to use them. This will likely change. FP+ will also mitigate the problem you mentioned of long stand-by lines, despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary.
One other issue is the inability to not Park Hop with FP+. Once Disney sees a decline in Park Hopping purchases, then this policy will get changed. But in my opinion, this policy has more to do with the on-line 'glitches' than it does with a policy preference. In other words, once Disney can get
MDE to actually work, then I suspect that Park Hopping with FP+ will become available.
Lastly, and by no means am I defending Disney, all new technology comes with glitches. However, Disney has had more than their fair share. It has been deplorable. I only wish Disney could have had a better plan to test what is apparently more IT than Disney is able to handle. Too many people, myself included, have spent too much time on-line making FP+ plans that we might have preferred actually waiting stand-by for an attraction. According to a Cast Member I spoke with today, there are fewer problems each day.
In the end, FP+ allows more people access to FP. The more people who can access FP, the more there are happy guests at Disney. Obviously, this is a 'win' for Disney. But for many people, like my family, FP+ makes the Disney experience better, and is a win for these people too. The people who 'lost' from the changes are: 1.) the commando's who arrived early and received more than their fair share of FP's, 2.) people who find planning to be a burden. I have no sympathy for the first group, and the second group is no different than those who still complain about FP in general.
