Went this past week (Feb 28-Mar 5) and FP+ is terrible if you are not staying on property. Midway Mania Fast Passes were gone by park open. We arrived at 8am at park open, but they had already opened the gates for "crowd control reasons". We went straight to Midway Mania -- 60 minute wait. No fast passes to get. Just not feasible to wait the 75-105 minute wait of Midway Mania (as it was almost all day) with small kids.
FP+ basically makes those of us staying off-property 2nd class citizens.
You have to stand in line at a FP+ kiosk to get the FP at park open. You cannot pick any 3 rides at Epcot, Hollywood Studios -- it's "pick 1 from column A and pick 2 from column B". In column A are all the good rides, so pick Test Track OR Soarin OR Maelstrom, and then pick 2 rides from the rest (all 10 min. wait rides, like Figment, Captain EO, etc).
Some tips: FP+ kiosk will ask which rides you want, then it will present you with the "Best Match" times (e.g., Test Track 10-11am, Figment 2-3pm, Eo 4-5pm), and also Options A through D. In our experience, "Best Match" did not correspond to the best times, so check all the options. Also, the FP+ kiosk cast member can show you all the available time windows for each ride, so you don't need to accept the groupings of time windows that the system spits out. Just ask the cast member to show you each ride individually. You CAN switch FP+ easily -- if you go to a ride ready to use the FP+ and the wait is low, just go on the ride and return to the FP+ kiosk to switch the FP+ to another ride. When you are done, you WILL NOT get a piece of paper with your ride time windows on it -- it can email an itinerary to you, but we just took smartphone pics (see attached pic).
Why FP+ is bad.
1) Resort guests can grab a lot of the best rides before you even enter the park.
2) You are limited to 3 rides. That's not enough, particularly when you can't always pick the 3 longest wait time rides.
3) Adds an extra step. If getting FP+ at the park, have to wait in line at kiosk and interact with human to get passes onto card. WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
4) What problem is it fixing? We really liked the old fast pass system, and we felt like we always had a chance to go to all the rides.
5) It's a step backwards. The parks feel like the "bad old days" when all lines were long and you have to choose 2-3 "big name" rides to go on that day.
6) FP+ windows are now strict -- you can't come back to ride after window is over.
7) Worsens lines at big rides. If you can only FP+ one of the big ticket rides, what happens to the lines at those rides on average?
8) When inevitable technical difficulties close/delay a ride, you are praying that the ride will "know" to accept your FP+ when you return later. It's unclear how much later you can return.
How could FP+ be better? Allow 6 rides with no restrictions on which rides. Make time window smaller (30 minutes) to accomplish this. Let resort guests reserve 3 in advance with the current restrictions. Eliminate the requirement to use FP+ kiosks and let people do it on their smartphones or online starting 12 hours before park open.
When FP came around, it was a godsend. Going to the parks was so much better. FP+ is the opposite. It is regressive and terrible, and in my opinion it is inevitable that Disney will have to walk it back. It's just too stupid to use so much human capital.
The core issue is that demand for rides is way too lopsided. You have 105 minute waits (Midway Mania) not far from rides with 10 minute waits (Star Tours). Disney makes a significant park of revenue from the parks ($2.5 - 3 billion in profit a year from the parks). Why doesn't it reinvest? Make more attractions! Double capacity for the best rides!
Make a gentler Tower of Terror duplicate in HS themed to "Up", geared toward shorter/younger kids. Make a Midway Mania duplicate themed to the Muppets. Make a roller coaster themed to Star Wars. Adapt Fantasmic for 3 or 4 daytime shows.
In Epcot, devote ALL the space in the Land to Soarin and 2 new versions. Build some princess themed rides at each of the countries -- Jasmin for Morocco, Merida for England, etc. Build a "test track" for the skies with an airplane simulator cockpit and theme it to Planes.
In MK, let's ignore the blunders of the new fantasyland. Add 2 new dumbo circles at the same location, but behind the playground. Keep Splash Mountain working more than 2 hours a day. Expand Pirates to reflect the billions you have made off the movie franchise. Why isn't there a version of Fantasmic at MK? Build a 10K seat theater and keep it running all day and you siphon off a lot of people!
We live in Florida and would go much more often if not for the crowds. We never go in summer or any high peak seasons. Disney has done a great job in getting folks like me to go off-peak. They just haven't done enough to improve capacity during those high peaks so things are reasonable.
imgur.com/iYYa4KK
FP+ basically makes those of us staying off-property 2nd class citizens.
You have to stand in line at a FP+ kiosk to get the FP at park open. You cannot pick any 3 rides at Epcot, Hollywood Studios -- it's "pick 1 from column A and pick 2 from column B". In column A are all the good rides, so pick Test Track OR Soarin OR Maelstrom, and then pick 2 rides from the rest (all 10 min. wait rides, like Figment, Captain EO, etc).
Some tips: FP+ kiosk will ask which rides you want, then it will present you with the "Best Match" times (e.g., Test Track 10-11am, Figment 2-3pm, Eo 4-5pm), and also Options A through D. In our experience, "Best Match" did not correspond to the best times, so check all the options. Also, the FP+ kiosk cast member can show you all the available time windows for each ride, so you don't need to accept the groupings of time windows that the system spits out. Just ask the cast member to show you each ride individually. You CAN switch FP+ easily -- if you go to a ride ready to use the FP+ and the wait is low, just go on the ride and return to the FP+ kiosk to switch the FP+ to another ride. When you are done, you WILL NOT get a piece of paper with your ride time windows on it -- it can email an itinerary to you, but we just took smartphone pics (see attached pic).
Why FP+ is bad.
1) Resort guests can grab a lot of the best rides before you even enter the park.
2) You are limited to 3 rides. That's not enough, particularly when you can't always pick the 3 longest wait time rides.
3) Adds an extra step. If getting FP+ at the park, have to wait in line at kiosk and interact with human to get passes onto card. WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
4) What problem is it fixing? We really liked the old fast pass system, and we felt like we always had a chance to go to all the rides.
5) It's a step backwards. The parks feel like the "bad old days" when all lines were long and you have to choose 2-3 "big name" rides to go on that day.
6) FP+ windows are now strict -- you can't come back to ride after window is over.
7) Worsens lines at big rides. If you can only FP+ one of the big ticket rides, what happens to the lines at those rides on average?
8) When inevitable technical difficulties close/delay a ride, you are praying that the ride will "know" to accept your FP+ when you return later. It's unclear how much later you can return.
How could FP+ be better? Allow 6 rides with no restrictions on which rides. Make time window smaller (30 minutes) to accomplish this. Let resort guests reserve 3 in advance with the current restrictions. Eliminate the requirement to use FP+ kiosks and let people do it on their smartphones or online starting 12 hours before park open.
When FP came around, it was a godsend. Going to the parks was so much better. FP+ is the opposite. It is regressive and terrible, and in my opinion it is inevitable that Disney will have to walk it back. It's just too stupid to use so much human capital.
The core issue is that demand for rides is way too lopsided. You have 105 minute waits (Midway Mania) not far from rides with 10 minute waits (Star Tours). Disney makes a significant park of revenue from the parks ($2.5 - 3 billion in profit a year from the parks). Why doesn't it reinvest? Make more attractions! Double capacity for the best rides!
Make a gentler Tower of Terror duplicate in HS themed to "Up", geared toward shorter/younger kids. Make a Midway Mania duplicate themed to the Muppets. Make a roller coaster themed to Star Wars. Adapt Fantasmic for 3 or 4 daytime shows.
In Epcot, devote ALL the space in the Land to Soarin and 2 new versions. Build some princess themed rides at each of the countries -- Jasmin for Morocco, Merida for England, etc. Build a "test track" for the skies with an airplane simulator cockpit and theme it to Planes.
In MK, let's ignore the blunders of the new fantasyland. Add 2 new dumbo circles at the same location, but behind the playground. Keep Splash Mountain working more than 2 hours a day. Expand Pirates to reflect the billions you have made off the movie franchise. Why isn't there a version of Fantasmic at MK? Build a 10K seat theater and keep it running all day and you siphon off a lot of people!
We live in Florida and would go much more often if not for the crowds. We never go in summer or any high peak seasons. Disney has done a great job in getting folks like me to go off-peak. They just haven't done enough to improve capacity during those high peaks so things are reasonable.
imgur.com/iYYa4KK
I am with you on this and I have not even been yet with the new system. I am really hoping things get tweaked before our Aug. trip. 
I heard that AP holders staying offsite/living in FL are being allowed to book FP now...or at least they are "testing" it now. I hope this changes for you. 
Send them your feedback about how unhappy you are. I get there are some who like this new system, but the negative is really growing and I don't see how WDW isn't concerned and I don't see how this system will prove successful for the vast majority this summer.
