oh do enjoy! That was the best bit for us sitting in bed then enjoying breakfast not thinking about the line at TSM or return times! Oh that and BIG lunch..oh and ETWB..oh and meeting the Princess at Princess hall..oh and...
the best part about having your fps all ready to go.............. you can even change them on the same day you are going to use them. and if you use one out of three, before your second time slot rolls around you can change the other last two if you want.
chances are what you are looking for wont be all sold out by 10am. I remember grabbing a 4pm pooh fp on December 26th at around 1pm. the magic kingdom is a hopping place on December 26th.
most days we were doing our fps on the bus heading to the park in the morning.
what you have to remember if you a rope dropper like we are..........
grab your fps for later in the am and in the pm when the crowds are higher. unlike the old system where you had to run to space mtn., grab your fp which said 10-11am (which that's why most people are complaining, they cant abuse the system and they are forced to come back in there time slot) get on space mtn. and ride it again at 10-11.
I made the mistake the first day and my fps were for early in the morning and didn't need them, stand by was empty. good thing I could change my other two for that day. once you get use to the system, its very easy to use. all the complaining and other then the three per day same park, it made it easier to grab a fps. the three per day, same park wont be around long. they used that as a starting mark because they were running two fp systems that didn't talk to each other. also explains the longer standby lines you hear people grumbling about. like I said, what you are reading are excuses because people no longer can abuse the system with return times.
don't stress over it................. its pretty easy.......... have a great trip!!!!!
have fun!
This is all really good info. I was most stressed about scheduling the timing of the fps. I had to go back to EPCOT days and take into account location. My first schedule had us going back and forth a lot. I also adjusted some MK days to either have the fps in the peak afternoon times or late morning so that we can go to the pool later in the day.
Once I started reading about how easy it is to change them on the fly during the day, I started to relax. In the end, I'm pretty confident I will like this system better. We rarely got more than 1-2 fp/day anyway.
Even if I find I don't like the system, I'LL STILL BE IN WDW FOR A WEEK!! It will still be fun and magical and all that good stuff. Maybe the crowds will help force us to S-L-O-W down a little. DH has us going constantly (he hates swimming).
that swimming thing is a guy thing!!!!!! I was the same way!!!!! "I got a pool in the back yard!!! I didn't drive 1100 miles to go swimmimg!!!!. sound familiar? 
the others are the off site people, which Disney has reported from the start, they will be worked into the system as well. TESTING started with limited resort guest and is growing as time goes on.
its summer time in florida. I was starting to break out in hives reading all those other ones.
Wonderful CM's though, so friendly and while one of them worked on our magic bands, the other one played and chatted with my kids to pass the time. So friendly!
with the old system, you can hit rope drop at the studios. run, push and trip your way to the fast pass machine. your fp time would say something like "your return time is 9-9:45." after 9:45 they could get another one.
people would go back at 5pm and try to use the fp. all you have to do is say, oh, I had an adr or come on man, I spent all this money and the cm will let you in. now with the new system, it takes the cm out of the loop and no longer can use the fp anytime you want.
also, the old fp machines had a button on the back people would push and out spits more fast passes. my dd witness a kid get his fingers cut (real bad) from sticking his hand in the back of an open fp machine. of course his parents are suing!!
most people who are complaining either cheated the old system or don't understand the new system. I was reading how a lot of the older dvc members (like me) hate the new system because they cant get on all the rides like they use to. well, the older dvc members, most of them, don't care if they don't get on all the rides in one day because they are most likely coming back.
the " I am not going to be a guinea pig" stuff, well, don't go during testing if your not interested. its like the people who go in august and bit$% about the heat.
my dd had more then once a guest ask her why is it raining? we paid all this money and now its raining? what do you say to that? how do you deal with a question like that?
This thread is a like a breath of fresh air!
We had an amazing FP+ experience the end of January. It worked perfectly and our magic bands scanned everytime without issue. The only glitch we ran into was the first day we used our magic bands at a park. Somehow, I'd only linked myself and one of my DD's tickets to the band. When we entered, the scanner wouldn't work for the other three family members. We were immediately ushered to guest services and they painstakingly linked everything correctly. Because it took more than just a few minutes, the CM gave us FP's for any attraction that day. They were confused as to why there was an issue and then I realized that it had been my own mistake!
Anyhow, the FP+ worked beautifully for us. One thing I hated about Epcot is running for the old FP to TT and then hoofing it over to Soarin'. Now we had our TT FP+ in hand and went straight to Soarin' and rode several other ones until the TT FP+ was good.
We're rope drop people so we never really utilized more than 2-3 FP's anyway. What I like about this new system is the ability to plan ahead and cut down on criss crossing the park.
We also LOVED the magic bands! Those things are nifty! You use them for everything. So easy and easier to keep track of since my DH has been known to lose his old Key to the World room card several times!
We'll be back for sure.
the cms will smile, and tell you im sorry have a magical day, have a sticker. if you want your voice to be herd and your vote to count, simply act like an adult, ask where you can fill out a survey or fill out the survey you got emailed and give them your opinion in an adult manner. yelling at the kid selling balloons or at any cm will get you know where. they deal with thousands of people per day and yelling and carrying on will do nothing for your case.
Going to WDW in Nov 2014!!!! Haven't been in Years and Years! Super excited to see Everything!!!
with the old system, you can hit rope drop at the studios. run, push and trip your way to the fast pass machine. your fp time would say something like "your return time is 9-9:45." after 9:45 they could get another one.
people would go back at 5pm and try to use the fp. all you have to do is say, oh, I had an adr or come on man, I spent all this money and the cm will let you in. now with the new system, it takes the cm out of the loop and no longer can use the fp anytime you want.
also, the old fp machines had a button on the back people would push and out spits more fast passes. my dd witness a kid get his fingers cut (real bad) from sticking his hand in the back of an open fp machine. of course his parents are suing!!
most people who are complaining either cheated the old system or don't understand the new system. I was reading how a lot of the older dvc members (like me) hate the new system because they cant get on all the rides like they use to. well, the older dvc members, most of them, don't care if they don't get on all the rides in one day because they are most likely coming back.
the " I am not going to be a guinea pig" stuff, well, don't go during testing if your not interested. its like the people who go in august and bit$% about the heat.
my dd had more then once a guest ask her why is it raining? we paid all this money and now its raining? what do you say to that? how do you deal with a question like that?
I left Wyoming to get away from snow!!!"
dvczerfs said:with the old system, you can hit rope drop at the studios. run, push and trip your way to the fast pass machine. your fp time would say something like "your return time is 9-9:45." after 9:45 they could get another one.
people would go back at 5pm and try to use the fp. all you have to do is say, oh, I had an adr or come on man, I spent all this money and the cm will let you in. now with the new system, it takes the cm out of the loop and no longer can use the fp anytime you want.
also, the old fp machines had a button on the back people would push and out spits more fast passes. my dd witness a kid get his fingers cut (real bad) from sticking his hand in the back of an open fp machine. of course his parents are suing!!
most people who are complaining either cheated the old system or don't understand the new system. I was reading how a lot of the older dvc members (like me) hate the new system because they cant get on all the rides like they use to. well, the older dvc members, most of them, don't care if they don't get on all the rides in one day because they are most likely coming back.
the " I am not going to be a guinea pig" stuff, well, don't go during testing if your not interested. its like the people who go in august and bit$% about the heat.
my dd had more then once a guest ask her why is it raining? we paid all this money and now its raining? what do you say to that? how do you deal with a question like that?
Ok, I have a funny story about Florida weather....
2006 we took the kids to WDW (our 2nd family vacation there) and attended the MVMCP for the first time.
The weather was a bit chilly (low 50's that evening) but nothing that we aren't used to. Hey, we live in Wyoming and have seen snow on the 4th of July!
Well, we are in the MK, I'm shopping, and the sweetest CM (at the counter) says to me "So, I hear there's a chance of snow tonight!"
He's all smiley and happy...
I look at him and lost it!
"You have got to be kidding me! I can't believe this!
He just stared wide eyed at me.
Well, it wasn't until the parade did I realize that the "snow" prediction was in fact fake snow!
I felt horrible!
After the parade, I found that sweet CM and apologized profusely for my stupid reaction. He laughed and said it wasn't the first time!
that would have gone over my head too!
losing power in the winter is not good!!!! ( berks county?) rain will empty a park!!!!
I have gone for 40years and my dd whos first visit when she was 9 months old and was there 28 times by her 19th birthday told me when she was about 5 years old she was going to work in the mk one day.
she under the grace of god applied and got accepted into the college program. I took her down may2013 and her program ended January 2014.
she had a blast!!!! she loved the kids!!!!she loves making people smile and is good at it! I never realized what these people (cms) deal with on a daily basis. she worked there for eight months and could tell you stories you wouldn't believe. good and bad.
when I asked her if she was going to extend, ( she could have stayed and worked till may 2014) she said, dad, I had a great time. living, playing and working for the mouse.she worked in three different rolls including working in the castle at the royal table but im starting to lose the magic. I want it to be my happy place like it is for you and it has been since I was eight.i want to come back with my kids one day, ride rides and point and say, I worked there!! she has her wdw degree hanging on her wall and her cm name tags framed and hanging on the dining room wall. she was honored, like most of them, to wear that name tag. its not easy.
cms are special people. they wouldn't be there if they were not. I have a new found respect for each and every one of them. if you ever come across one that really made your vacation or day, stop in at the parks guest relations and have them fill out a four key card for that cast member. just need there name and where they worked. it looks real good on there record and Disney does recognize these cms in many different ways. if they are going for a promotion, raise anything, these keys cards are a big plus to there record.
we are in the MK, I'm shopping, and the sweetest CM (at the counter) says to me "So, I hear there's a chance of snow tonight!"
He's all smiley and happy...
I look at him and lost it!
"You have got to be kidding me! I can't believe this!
He just stared wide eyed at me.
Well, it wasn't until the parade did I realize that the "snow" prediction was in fact fake snow!
I felt horrible!
After the parade, I found that sweet CM and apologized profusely for my stupid reaction. He laughed and said it wasn't the first time!
That's hilarious!
So true, and thank you for the reminder!
Tell your daughter "thank you!" from all of us who may have not said so at the time and wanted to.
I will!!!! thank you!!!! 
