Don't like new fastpass plus!

[Bete]

I also wonder if people who had the legacy FP system mastered will ever be able to get as much out of the current FP+ system. As is, I have yet to figure out how to get as much done under the current system as I was able to accomplish with legacy. I also had it down so I never ran anywhere, didn't have a person designated to go across the park to pull a fast pass, and never actually crossed the park for the sole purpose of a fast pass. I was able to ride the rides I enjoyed multiple times with minimal wait. As such, I stayed in the parks usually from rope drop to closing. For our upcoming trip, we will be in the parks significantly less time because we just don't see it being a valuable use of our time. We will do what we wish to do, but since we won't get to do our favorites multiple times without waiting significantly longer than we once did, we won't be staying in the parks. This means we also will likely be spending less money in the parks. Also, it seems to me that the majority of people I see who prefer the FP+ system to the legacy FP system say that they like it because they know that they have those three rides that they will have less wait for and so they are now able to sleep in and not rush to the park at rope drop or risk there not being any fast passes left. I can't imagine that was Disney's reasoning. I can't believe that a company that is out to make money intentionally designed a system to make it easier for people to spend less time in the parks. However, many are saying that they are and see it as a big bonus to FP+.

I agree.

I think you hit it. If and when I return to Disney I will consider it to be an half day experience every day. I'll use my easy FP+ and be done with my three picks and leave the park. I'll mix it up with doing mornings on certain days, afternoons on other days and evenings still on other days. I will go elsewhere with my freed up time.

Since, the Disney parks are open later than many other competitors especially with late magic hours for onsite guests I may use the late hours for Disney and spend my day elsewhere. It will be a longer day, but I will be able to accomplish much more overall everywhere and therefore I will have a shorter stay in Florida overall. We like all the different parks; so, we will make it work in a different way if I return. We can do a nap and get in a longer day between two, different parks. I can see this working. I will cut down on resort costs this way with a shorter stay.

I can see doing early extra magic mornings without FP+ and leaving the park by 11 am. Then go elsewhere for the day and return to Disney in the evening with my 3 choices for FP+.

I'm formulating new parks strategies and I'm confident I will find what works out best for us. Bottom line I will spend less time at Disney, but I will be more commando style during my time there.

I absolutely won't waste my time in long lines. I won't go on lesser rides. I absolutely won't be dining in the parks; unless, I'm there during a free dining promo. I won't be shopping at all. I'll concentrate on my Disney FP+ and get out of there.

 

[flicx]

1. expansion - create more things for more visitors and thin the crowds
the problem: if you thought it was tough to see everything in one trip before, it is now impossible

Now that's a problem I would like to have. Too many attractions. Sounds like a good problem to me!

 

[mom2rtk]

I agree.

I think you hit it. If and when I return to Disney I will consider it to be an half day experience every day. I'll use my easy FP+ and be done with my three picks and leave the park. I'll mix it up with doing mornings on certain days, afternoons on other days and evenings still on other days. I will go elsewhere with my freed up time.

Since, the Disney parks are open later than many other competitors especially with late magic hours for onsite guests I may use the late hours for Disney and spend my day elsewhere. It will be a longer day, but I will be able to accomplish much more overall everywhere and therefore I will have a shorter stay in Florida overall. We like all the different parks; so, we will make it work in a different way if I return. We can do a nap and get in a longer day between two, different parks. I can see this working. I will cut down on resort costs this way with a shorter stay.

I can see doing early extra magic mornings without FP+ and leaving the park by 11 am. Then go elsewhere for the day and return to Disney in the evening with my 3 choices for FP+.

I'm formulating new parks strategies and I'm confident I will find what works out best for us. Bottom line I will spend less time at Disney, but I will be more commando style during my time there.

I absolutely won't waste my time in long lines. I won't go on lesser rides. I absolutely won't be dining in the parks; unless, I'm there during a free dining promo. I won't be shopping at all. I'll concentrate on my Disney FP+ and get out of there.

As a variation on your plan, my plan would be to stay onsite at Universal. Enjoy front of the line there during the day, then pop over to Disney for my 3 quick FP rides. Just go around enjoying all the low hanging fruit.

 

[Robo]

You can actually cancel your unwanted FPs prior to arriving at the park. If you do this in a park with tiers (HS or EP), you can book the same ride or any other Tier 1 or Tier 2 ride immediately after you've redeemed your FP.

Some recent reports say otherwise.

 

[wisblue]

You can actually cancel your unwanted FPs prior to arriving at the park. If you do this in a park with tiers (HS or EP), you can book the same ride or any other Tier 1 or Tier 2 ride immediately after you've redeemed your FP.

So, I prebook only Soarin' at EP. Once I finish riding, I go directly to the kiosk and grab TT. We've had success with this method in June and Aug/Sept. For HS, I prebooked TSMM and ToT and grabbed RNRC after I finished my two rides.

The caveat is that once you cancel one or two of your prebooked FPs, they are gone for good. You can't get them back unless you cancel all of your FPs for the day and start over.

While you were going through that exercise, in the first hour after the park opened I would have ridden both Soarin and Test Track without using a FP for either and would still have my 3 FPs to use for something else, maybe at another park, later in the day.

 

[MillauFr]

Easy solution to the people who do not like FP+. Just go to Disneyland next time. No FP+ there.

 

[Suvadoo]

Easy solution to the people who do not like FP+. Just go to Disneyland next time. No FP+ there.

I just hope it stays that way!

 

[mom2rtk]

Easy solution to the people who do not like FP+. Just go to Disneyland next time. No FP+ there.

One step ahead of you.

 

[Mkrop]

Easy solution to the people who do not like FP+. Just go to Disneyland next time. No FP+ there.

Did that this summer and it was wonderful!!!!!

 

[Laketravis]

We are here now, got in late Thursday night. Over the last two days we've been to Epcot and Hollywood yesterday, Animal Kingdom this morning and headed to Magic Kingdom tonight. A few observations so far:

1. The MDE app sucks while in the parks. Constant error messages about technical difficulties. So we'd head to a kiosk or guest relations and often those were having issues as well. But the iPad's the CM's were using didn't seem to have any issues. One CM told me they are on a different network.

2. They need to do a much better job with FP Kiosks. The locations aren't easily identified, and it often involves a trek halfway across the park to find one.

3. I thought scheduling three FP's back to back was smart but it turns out you better not get in any standby lines during that time. We would stress out and keep checking the time to make sure we were getting thru a standby lime and attraction before our next FP had expired. Not fun.

4. I haven't counted everybody in the parks, but while it doesn't seem like that many more people this year than last year at the same time, SB lines for everything are definitely longer. Substantially longer. And don't tell me that hasn't been your experience unless you are in the parks right now in which case let me know, we'll meet up and go time some lines to prove it.

5. I've lost confidence in the "Actual" wait times shown on the two different apps offering them right now. My experience is that a 30 minute posted wait time is much more accurate right now then the 12 minute 'Actual' the app might be showing.

6. Most importantly, I've observed a high level of guest ignorance when it comes FP. The stats might indicate more guests use it but I'm finding that certainly doesn't mean they understand it. I don't know if Disney will ever be able to reduce the learning curve, but it causes visible frustrations for many and confused delays for others. I almost wanted to intervene when a CM was suggesting to a newbie couple how they may want to consider Nemo instead of Soarin.

That's it so far, I'm somewhat dismayed that Rope Drop is substantially less of an advantage than it used to be but I'm looking forward to seeing how this progresses over the next two weeks.



.

 

[Mikie]

We are here now, got in late Thursday night. Over the last two days we've been to Epcot and Hollywood yesterday, Animal Kingdom this morning and headed to Magic Kingdom tonight. A few observations so far:


3. I thought scheduling three FP's back to back was smart but it turns out you better not get in any standby lines during that time. We would stress out and keep checking the time to make sure we were getting thru a standby lime and attraction before our next FP had expired. Not fun.
.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

For me (keeping in mind I had no particular goal of accumulating 4th or more) my best days were where I had FPs like 10:30-11:30 and 11:30-12:30 for rides near each other. Use the first near the end of the window and immediately go to ride #2, then grab lunch and have a third FP around 1:00 or 1:30. I felt like midday use of FPs was still saving time on waits that had built by then and I only had one big block of time where I was checking the clock.

I think any arrangement of 2FPs back to back with the third scheduled totally another time might help. No idea how well this would play with trying to get more FPs.

Maybe if you have any wiggle in your remaining plans, you might like that approach. Enjoy your trip!!

 

[Luckybee]

That's about a 10 hour day in the park with 9+ attractions, 2 meals, a parade, and a nightime finale.

If your complaint is that you used to be able to do more? OK, I respect that but you were a power user.

If your complaint is that you don't want to be scheduled? Again, I respect that and probably have more sympathy for you and I understand that WDW has changed the rules and they don't fit your ideal vacation.

There is a misconception on the boards that I have seen over and over again, that is that everyone who complains that they could get more done is a "power user". That is simply incorrect. More is relative, and for us means more in a fixed period of time. We are far from being power users. Matter of fact most would say we are the exact opposite. For dh and I a great Disney holiday would have included anywhere from 4-8 hours(including shopping and meal time) at a park depending on our mood, never rope dropping, and 50% of the time not starting until 3ish. We enjoy spending a good portion of our day earlier at pools etc.
Obviously we would not do everything in a day but no matter what time we would arrive there was always more than enough that we could do without long lines as long as we avoided the mountains. We didn't do any ride twice, and we didn't feel we had to ride everything by any stretch.
Now that isn't the case at least it wasn't when we were there. To accomplish the same amount of "stuff" in even twice the amount of time would be impossible.
All Im saying is that it isn't just " power users " who cant do what they want. And yes, we could go to the park longer, but then it isn't a vacation for us, it becomes more like work.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I've recently tried to walk two first time families through the process of visiting WDW (and one more experienced visitor).Simply put, nobody can fathom the idea of booking meals 180 days in advance. Then add the confounding experience of buying a ticket, and prebooking FP+ at 60 days. Crazy.


“A word may be said in regard to the concept and conduct of Disneyland’s operational tone. Although various sections will have the fun and flavor of a carnival or amusement park, there will be none of the ‘pitches,’ game wheels, sharp practices, and devices designed to milk the visitor’s pocketbook.” - Walt Disney

 

[my2minnies]

We are here now, got in late Thursday night. Over the last two days we've been to Epcot and Hollywood yesterday, Animal Kingdom this morning and headed to Magic Kingdom tonight. A few observations so far:




We had the exact same experience last week which was different from all my other experiences prior to fp+. I couldn't tell if the parks were simply more crowded than previous visits but the stand by line increases I attribute partially to the fp+.

We only had problems with the app once in our 9 day visit. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

“The idea of Disneyland is a simple one. It will be a place for people to find happiness and knowledge. It will be a place for parents and children to share pleasant times in one another’s company; a place for teachers and pupils to discover greater ways of understanding and education. Here the older generation can recapture the nostalgia of days gone by, and the younger generation can savor the challenge of the future.” - Walt Disney

“I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in Disneyland. I want them to feel they’re in another world.” - Walt Disney


"Besides, you don’t work for a dollar- you work to create and have fun.” - Walt Disney

Personally, I think Disney World has lost it's way. the bottom line on FP+, is that visiting Wdw should not be so convoluted.

 

[wisblue]

“The idea of Disneyland is a simple one. It will be a place for people to find happiness and knowledge. It will be a place for parents and children to share pleasant times in one another’s company; a place for teachers and pupils to discover greater ways of understanding and education. Here the older generation can recapture the nostalgia of days gone by, and the younger generation can savor the challenge of the future.” - Walt Disney

“I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in Disneyland. I want them to feel they’re in another world.” - Walt Disney


"Besides, you don’t work for a dollar- you work to create and have fun.” - Walt Disney

Personally, I think Disney World has lost it's way. the bottom line on FP+, is that visiting Wdw should not be so convoluted.

I would read that just the opposite.

Nowhere does it say that Disneyland (and by extension WDW) should be a place to see how many rides families can cram into one day.

Maybe it's some guests who have lost their way.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I would read that just the opposite.

Nowhere does it say that Disneyland (and by extension WDW) should be a place to see how many rides families can cram into one day.

Maybe it's some guests who have lost their way.

I'm not sure you read what I submitted.

I mostly said, "Visiting Disney World has become very complicated. Too complicated."

It is most unfortunate.

What really brought it home to me, was trying to explain WDW to someone who has never been before. Just to walk in the door of WDW, you need to know a huge lexicon of vocabulary terms. Fastpass Plus is just one of the disappointing recent changes that have added to the problem, and what I think will ultimately hurt the parks. when it was first discussed, I imagined a system that would be easy to use. The reality is far off the mark. And that's not even touching upon ill informed staff and rampant technology glitches.

 

[wisblue]

I'm not sure you read what I submitted.

I mostly said, "Visiting Disney World has become very complicated. Too complicated."

It is most unfortunate.

What really brought it home to me, was trying to explain WDW to someone who has never been before. Just to walk in the door of WDW, you need to know a huge lexicon of vocabulary terms.

It's only as complicated as you choose to make it.

Whatever complication there is does not come just from FP+. The first time we visited Disneyland in 1960 we had no idea until we got there about the A-E ticket books.

If you want to dislike FP+ fine. But to suggest that it marks a departure from Walt Disney's principles any more than a lot of other things that have happened over the last 50 years is, IMHO, kind of laughable. There have been large guidebooks with tips on how to visit and tour Disneyland and Disney World for decades. People didn't buy them because visiting the parks was purely intuitive.

 

[Shaden]

We are here now, got in late Thursday night. Over the last two days we've been to Epcot and Hollywood yesterday, Animal Kingdom this morning and headed to Magic Kingdom tonight. A few observations so far:

1. The MDE app sucks while in the parks. Constant error messages about technical difficulties. So we'd head to a kiosk or guest relations and often those were having issues as well. But the iPad's the CM's were using didn't seem to have any issues. One CM told me they are on a different network.

2. They need to do a much better job with FP Kiosks. The locations aren't easily identified, and it often involves a trek halfway across the park to find one.

3. I thought scheduling three FP's back to back was smart but it turns out you better not get in any standby lines during that time. We would stress out and keep checking the time to make sure we were getting thru a standby lime and attraction before our next FP had expired. Not fun.

4. I haven't counted everybody in the parks, but while it doesn't seem like that many more people this year than last year at the same time, SB lines for everything are definitely longer. Substantially longer. And don't tell me that hasn't been your experience unless you are in the parks right now in which case let me know, we'll meet up and go time some lines to prove it.

5. I've lost confidence in the "Actual" wait times shown on the two different apps offering them right now. My experience is that a 30 minute posted wait time is much more accurate right now then the 12 minute 'Actual' the app might be showing.

6. Most importantly, I've observed a high level of guest ignorance when it comes FP. The stats might indicate more guests use it but I'm finding that certainly doesn't mean they understand it. I don't know if Disney will ever be able to reduce the learning curve, but it causes visible frustrations for many and confused delays for others. I almost wanted to intervene when a CM was suggesting to a newbie couple how they may want to consider Nemo instead of Soarin.

That's it so far, I'm somewhat dismayed that Rope Drop is substantially less of an advantage than it used to be but I'm looking forward to seeing how this progresses over the next two weeks.



.

Pretty fair and solid observations, though I wouldn't expect anything else.

Wondering how you felt about arrival day ? Did FP+ give you some help then as it usually is one of the clear benefits of the system.

 

[Shaden]

I've recently tried to walk two first time families through the process of visiting WDW (and one more experienced visitor).Simply put, nobody can fathom the idea of booking meals 180 days in advance. Then add the confounding experience of buying a ticket, and prebooking FP+ at 60 days. Crazy.

Indeed, when trying to walk a friend through the process (as I have for several people), as simply as I could with absolutely NO negative discussion of the new system in place, merely a discussion of how everything works and at what points you book what etc ...

She stopped my toward the end and just said ... "Nope, forget it. A vacation shouldn't be that complicated"

She is not taking her family to Disney world. I did spend some time trying to convince her it wasn't that bad and that the overall experience is awesome .... but ... nope.