F&W Festival Passports..... so disappointed

[MakiraMarlena]

There's a payment for the Remy challenge...I'm sure they don't want complaints from anyone who was unable or unwilling to fill out the entire map after paying, and then got denied a pin. It's not school, it's a diversion at a theme park.

I understand that some are attached to the idea of the stamps, but this change will make the kiosk process much more efficient and that's a good thing.

 

[concertkatie]

I liked the idea of the stamps but when we went 2 years ago I was in charge of keeping the passport and getting it ready when we got to the booth and I had trouble keeping track of it in my purse. At least with the stickers I can just add them in at my leisure to keep track of what I ate and not really have to keep track of the passport all day!

 

[linzbear]

A signature is not at all the same as a stamp. SMH. The stamps were special.

I get that you don't get it and don't care! I don't care that you don't care. Some of us do. You aren't one of them. You're never going to convince me so I'm glad you like the sticker books. Enjoy.

We get it. Everyone else was using the passport wrong, and now they changed it to an inferior product so that everyone who was using it wrong doesn't clog up the lines. You're mad because you were doing it right and now you're stuck with something that isn't as good, and so everyone else ruined it for you.

Being right is not important all the time. Let it go.

 

[Turn the Page]

I sort of wish the moderators could outlaw this response...I see it all the time and it really doesn't add anything to the conversation...

Moving on...

I kind of agree with the OP on this one. The passports are sort of like a treasure hunt where you can look back with a little bit of pride..."look at all these stamps I collected by actually going there and gathering them!" Not as much fun or pride when they're handing them out at the door and you don't have to "work" for them.

An analogy...say a teacher gives a special sticker to a kid who stayed after school and cleaned erasers (in the olden days haha). That sticker is going to feel a little less special if the teacher also hands them out to every student in the class who walks in the door the next morning.

The OP is the eraser-cleaner and the rest of us are the kids who just walked in the door the next morning and got a sticker without earning it.

I totally get it OP...they took a little of the fun and pride out of it. The "working for it" aspect is gone.

Except that you still can work for it the same way you could before. The passport police aren't checking you upon exit to make sure you used all the stickers. There is absolutely nothing stopping anyone from going to every booth and putting the corresponding sticker on the proper page in the passport to track their progress as they work their way through the festival. The only difference now is people who don't buy things at the booths don't clog up the lines getting the stamps.

I really fail to see how someone putting stamps they didn't earn in their passports affects anyone else at all.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Um, there are 26 countries in Europe that are the Schengen Area Member States. These are the countries that ascribe to an open borders concept with other Schengen countries and thus allow travelers to cross borders freely. But you do still get a passport stamp when you first enter a Schengen country and when you're departing to a non-Schengen country. Not all members of the EU are Schengen countries (i.e., Ireland and the UK), and not all Schengen members are in the EU (i.e., Iceland and Norway).

Prior to 2009, you didn't need a passport to travel between the US and the Caribbean or Mexico. But the rules have now changed, so I wouldn't rely on what happened in 2001 to guage what happens now. Even though passports are scanned electronically, you still get passport stamps when going into/leaving countries and/or the Schengen area.

We had to show our passports when we crossed borders. The stamp wasn't required, but we asked for (and received) stamps in each country (we visited 4 countries). I'm not sure what they do now...as noted in my post, this was back in 2004.

It was just to illustrate how the OP considers the new passports thematically incorrect because stamps are not collected any more. In reality, stamps are not collected in real life in many circumstances, either.

 

[Bellamouse]

We get it. Everyone else was using the passport wrong, and now they changed it to an inferior product so that everyone who was using it wrong doesn't clog up the lines. You're mad because you were doing it right and now you're stuck with something that isn't as good, and so everyone else ruined it for you.

Being right is not important all the time. Let it go.

I am still disappointed, and there is no wrong or right to that. Everyone comes to Disney with their own likes, preferences and expectations. We are increasingly disappointed with Disney - and yes, I do perceive other people "ruining" things for me (like the Dining Plan ruining the food in the restaurants as another example). I pointed out one reason why. You disagree. Ask me if I care. This board is for sharing our thoughts. I shared mine and am entitled to do so. Don't care if you don't like or agree with my thoughts. If you disagree so vehemently, why bother coming on the thread? Seems like it's YOU that's the one that is determined to be "right" about the fact that I am so wrong....

 

[LilyWDW]

I am still disappointed, and there is no wrong or right to that. Everyone comes to Disney with their own likes, preferences and expectations. We are increasingly disappointed with Disney - and yes, I do perceive other people "ruining" things for me (like the Dining Plan ruining the food in the restaurants as another example). I pointed out one reason why. You disagree. Ask me if I care. This board is for sharing our thoughts. I shared mine and am entitled to do so. Don't care if you don't like or agree with my thoughts. If you disagree so vehemently, why bother coming on the thread? Seems like it's YOU that's the one that is determined to be "right" about the fact that I am so wrong....

To share their thoughts? Just like you can come here and post that you are upset about this, others are just as right to come here and explain why they do not agree with you. That's how discussion boards work and it's good that they work this way. It would be bad if people were not allowed to disagree because then readers would get a very VERY slanted view on things.

 

[wilkeliza]

There's a payment for the Remy challenge...I'm sure they don't want complaints from anyone who was unable or unwilling to fill out the entire map after paying, and then got denied a pin. It's not school, it's a diversion at a theme park.

I understand that some are attached to the idea of the stamps, but this change will make the kiosk process much more efficient and that's a good thing.

True that Remy is paid and not free. Heck I am still polling people on if the Remy in France is an Onion or Garlic and same for Japan. I guess the "official" answer is France is Garlic and Japan is Onion but I asked all 13 people in my ground from this weekend and we all agreed France was Onions and Japan was garlic.

 

[Bellamouse]

To share their thoughts? Just like you can come here and post that you are upset about this, others are just as right to come here and explain why they do not agree with you. That's how discussion boards work and it's good that they work this way. It would be bad if people were not allowed to disagree because then readers would get a very VERY slanted view on things.

Who said they weren't allowed to disagree? I have said repeatedly, that I realize I am in the minority, and I had NOTHING to say personally to all the people who chimed in and said they like the stickers. Linzbear is the one who is telling me to "get over it". I will not get over it, thanks. And she has no business telling anyone else what they should or should not be disappointed about. That seems pretty obvious. Clearly certain people on this board cannot hear one negative comment about Disney, and the board bullies get together to try to shut the person down. I've seen it before.

If you disagree, come, voice your opinion (like many did) and move on. People can decide for themselves which side they agree with. I don't need to be told to "get over it"... sheesh

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

I will miss the stamps. I liked them. I think I liked them more than I will like the stickers, but the stickers are fine. My passport is a souvenir for me. I use it to mark which countries we visited & what we tried. I don't really care what other people do with theirs.

I don't get the "pride" thing, either. Does anyone really pull out the F&W passport when company is over & show off the stamp they got for eating a taco? I'm on vacation, stuffing myself stupid as I pass through Disney's imitations of various countries. Not something I generally associate with "pride."

 

[linzbear]

Who said they weren't allowed to disagree? I have said repeatedly, that I realize I am in the minority, and I had NOTHING to say personally to all the people who chimed in and said they like the stickers. Linzbear is the one who is telling me to "get over it". I will not get over it, thanks. And she has no business telling anyone else what they should or should not be disappointed about. That seems pretty obvious. Clearly certain people on this board cannot hear one negative comment about Disney, and the board bullies get together to try to shut the person down. I've seen it before.

If you disagree, come, voice your opinion (like many did) and move on. People can decide for themselves which side they agree with. I don't need to be told to "get over it"... sheesh

Excuse me, I never said "get over it" and I never said you shouldn't be disappointed. You're projecting, and I won't be involved.

 

[Bellamouse]

Excuse me, I never said "get over it" and I never said you shouldn't be disappointed. You're projecting, and I won't be involved.

Oh, sorry... you said "Let it go" - same difference. Not projecting anything.

 

[Disney_traveler]

Only thing I will really miss about the stamps is when they would leave the stamp by the napkins and I would line up stamps on my hand/arm.......yes I'm 30 years old! Everyone is a kid at Disney!

 

[yulilin3]

Only thing I will really miss about the stamps is when they would leave the stamp by the napkins and I would line up stamps on my hand/arm.......yes I'm 30 years old! Everyone is a kid at Disney!

free temporary tattoos, can't beat that!!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Not sure what difference it makes to me if someone else puts the stickers in their book all at once.

I didn't ever do the passport but I'll get one to get the stickers, although I'll probably put them on a Duffy on a stick instead of inside the passport.

Agreed, it makes absolutely zero difference to anyone what someone else chooses to do with their passports. I will only use the stickers if I visit the booth, I'm sure DD will put the stickers on everything but the book.

I actually bought more stuff because I wanted all the stamps but wasn't going to just go and not try anything... so I tried at least a small snack or drink at each place last time I went.

I did too. Even with dietary restrictions I made a point of trying a wine or something if I didn't try any of the food. I was a little OCD about it.

I sort of wish the moderators could outlaw this response...I see it all the time and it really doesn't add anything to the conversation...

Moving on...

I kind of agree with the OP on this one. The passports are sort of like a treasure hunt where you can look back with a little bit of pride..."look at all these stamps I collected by actually going there and gathering them!" Not as much fun or pride when they're handing them out at the door and you don't have to "work" for them.

An analogy...say a teacher gives a special sticker to a kid who stayed after school and cleaned erasers (in the olden days haha). That sticker is going to feel a little less special if the teacher also hands them out to every student in the class who walks in the door the next morning.

The OP is the eraser-cleaner and the rest of us are the kids who just walked in the door the next morning and got a sticker without earning it.

I totally get it OP...they took a little of the fun and pride out of it. The "working for it" aspect is gone.

I don't think the teacher analogy works though, as the CMs would give the stamps to anyone too, so nothing has changed with stickers vs. stamps with who "earned" them.

I liked the idea of the stamps but when we went 2 years ago I was in charge of keeping the passport and getting it ready when we got to the booth and I had trouble keeping track of it in my purse. At least with the stickers I can just add them in at my leisure to keep track of what I ate and not really have to keep track of the passport all day!

I plan on doing mine once I'm back in the room for the night.

Who said they weren't allowed to disagree? I have said repeatedly, that I realize I am in the minority, and I had NOTHING to say personally to all the people who chimed in and said they like the stickers. Linzbear is the one who is telling me to "get over it". I will not get over it, thanks. And she has no business telling anyone else what they should or should not be disappointed about. That seems pretty obvious. Clearly certain people on this board cannot hear one negative comment about Disney, and the board bullies get together to try to shut the person down. I've seen it before.

If you disagree, come, voice your opinion (like many did) and move on. People can decide for themselves which side they agree with. I don't need to be told to "get over it"... sheesh

You're telling people to move on, but are upset for people telling you to let it go? I don't think anyone's trying to fight you, I just think you're taking they're disagreeing with you too personally.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I guess I can see the point. If it's increasing the line to get passports stamped then it is making things more efficient.

 

[phyllis1966]

I get that I'm in the minority. You all are welcome to enjoy your kiddie-sticker books. I will continue to be sad the actual stamps are gone, no matter what anyone says.

I understand how you feel, even though I've never done the passport thing before. It's one of those little extra touches that made a WDW vacation unique, and now it's gone, along with lots of other special touches.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

We LOVE the idea of the stickers and cannot WAIT to get ours next week!!!!! The line was a pain for just a stamp and we would skip some and say we would go back but we never did. Now we do the Ratatouille scavenger hunt and these stickers and the kids will have a blast!

 

[kristenabelle]

My F&W badge of honor was never the Passport (though I liked it, and still will) - it was the brand new tire around my waist after each visit.

 

[DrunkJam]

Only Canada and Nassau (the latter while cruising) are lax with their passport stamps I've noticed. For an American, at least. Actually the Bahamas countries for cruising you do need to go seek out the stamps. They know how you are leaving when you're cruising, and that it will be that day. Plus most Bahamas etc cruises, for Americans, don't even require a passport, so why have someone there for it? We use passports for cruising and we go in search of the stamps, personally.

It is virtually impossible, at the moment for a british person to get the actual country stamp of an EU country as they cross the border. I don't know if that will change (I am still mourning my EU citizenship, and it's not gone yet) so they are less common.
I kind of see the point in both directions, stamps and stickers.