Fast Pass Plus wasn't THAT bad…. a lot of hype for how awful it was

[MainMom]

Did you report it to guest services?

No, I really didn't care enough. I cut disney some slack due to the amount of guests it has on a daily basis. I only posted it because I see all of the complaints about the bad state of the bathrooms like it's something new.

 

[Laketravis]

I was there on Sunday. Sounds like it was a lot better! Sorry you are running into so many negative things. I am sure that can be really disheartening. Its just odd that it would change so much over a week. That's why I asked if they would turn those things off. Like maybe at a certain crowd level or something?

Turning those things off at certain crowd levels was why I speculated the infrastructure couldn't handle the load. We often come during less busy times and never experienced such high frequency of outages but I remembsr people often complaining about breakdowns.

I'd prefer to keep coming during less crowded times but with DS school schedule now it just isn't possible.


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[Lisa loves Pooh]

Same here. Works best for us on a day like today where we are in USO right now and waits have been reasonable then tonight we'll go back to the MK for FP's that start at 8:30pm. It's only when breakdowns throw a wrench in that strategy.

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What were the wait times?

 

[Tissa]

The inclinator at People Mover was off Saturday too. I was wondering what was up with that. It is my sons favorite ride and it got old walking up there after the 5th time. We are going tomorrow so hopefully it is working.

FP+ is great if you can stick to the plan or travel at slower times. We have to go when school is out and with an autistic son we never seem to stick to the plan. On Sat we had our FP booked for certain times but needed to leave the MK early due to him being tired. I tried to change the times to later in the day and the app was not working so I had to get in line for the kiosks. I could not get my headliners(splash, Space) for any other time that day. I could get Haunted Mansion or the speedway. Um, NO thanks. we just did not come back to the park that day. This was at 11am. With the old system we still had a chance. I'm not loving it but I know for others it works just fine.

I also noticed no matter how much they advertise the use of the whole thing there are still people who have no clue about fp+ and how to use it. We were at DHS by TOT and heard a pre-teen boy tell his mom he was going to get a fastpass (in the old fp area that now has the kiosks) His mom kept saying, "what ride is this for?" He was shocked the machines were gone.

 

[wisblue]

I have been paying attention to USO wait times lately because my adult daughters may want to go there for a day on our upcoming trip to see Diagon Alley.

Here are some of the posted wait times reported by Touring Plans as of about 4 PM EDT today:

Rip Ride Rockit 90
Despicable Me 75
Gringotts 60
Men In Black 60
Simpson's 55
Transformers 50
Hogwarts Express 45
Mummy 45
Disaster 30
ET 15

 

[Laketravis]

There are others you could have shown that were much lower and the ones you did show peaked in the afternoon but were lower earlier in the day. Nevertheless, compared to the posted wait times for WDW today the ones you picked are comparatively low.

Both park systems are very busy this week, good thing we left USO around 4. We passed Despicable Me on the way out and it was at 75min. But Shrek right across the street was only 10.

Rode FJ tbis morning when it was 30, EFG was 45 when we rode it, Spidey was 15, Transformers 20, etc....

I'm finding that the worst WDW wait times are much higher than the worst USO wait times.

We didn't do EP. If your daughters go at open they should do DM first and then Diagon Alley because for some reason DM has the highest waits of anything but most everything is reasonable thru noon.

Then, it's less than 15 minutes to WDW if they setup some FP's for later in the day. I'm finding that strategy to work very, very well.

Unless the rides are broken, of course.

FYI - If they like steak, suggest they stop at Vines Grille on Sand Lake. Awesome food, much better than Yachtsman and cost the same or less. It's on the way from USO to WDW.


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[luvsJack]

Are you going by posted wait times or the times you actually waited? We found the posted wait times all over the place. 30 would be posted and it would be a walk on OR 30 min posted and it would be twice that. Peter Pan wasn't even close. Neither was PoC. Both said 30 but one was at least 60 and the other a walk on.

 

[Cormoran]

Are you going by posted wait times or the times you actually waited? We found the posted wait times all over the place. 30 would be posted and it would be a walk on OR 30 min posted and it would be twice that. Peter Pan wasn't even close. Neither was PoC. Both said 30 but one was at least 60 and the other a walk on.

I hate not being able to rely on the posted wait times. It makes it really if you have an upcoming FP+ or ADR. Do you take the chance that the posted wait is accurate or do you skip it?

 

[Laketravis]

Just got back after using our 3 FP's for the evening. Tonight was relatively smooth, arrived at 8 and used the first for Buzz then did CoP, then BTMR, watched the fireworks when we exited, then did Space Mountain with our third FP when the SB wait was 75 minutes at 10:40pm. Caught the parade on the way out, took the monorail to TTC and walked to the car because the tram lines were very long, and got back to the condo at 11:55pm.

That's how it should work, and was intended to work on the first night (the 6th). Pretty productive day doing USO in the morning and MK in the evening with 3 FP's planned out and no breakdowns.

Oh, yeah - the inclination was not moving on the up side, just the down side. I asked the CM what the deal was and he said it's been up and down for a couple of months. I asked if it's been turned off or broken and he said broken.


Edit to add: I just checked my email and apparently we just dodged a breakdown tonight - looks like Space Mountain went down again right after we used our FP:

We're sorry, your previously confirmed FastPass+ selection for Space Mountain® from 10:45 PM to 11:45 PM on 03/16/2015 needs to be changed because the experience is temporarily unavailable.

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[Laketravis]

Are you going by posted wait times or the times you actually waited? We found the posted wait times all over the place. 30 would be posted and it would be a walk on OR 30 min posted and it would be twice that. Peter Pan wasn't even close. Neither was PoC. Both said 30 but one was at least 60 and the other a walk on.

If you are asking me, I was quoting the posted wait times. I didn't actually time any of them but I'd say they were pretty close.

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[ArwenMarie]

I love WDW, and I never see the things that so many complain about in these threads - but I wouldn't go to WDW during spring break if the trip were free.

That's great if you can go at other times, seriously.

But when you are tied to a school schedule, like we are now, you are stuck. You either go when there is a break or you don't go. Or you go in the summer which has its own charms, mainly the deadly Central Florida heat AND crowds.

Just because you go at a busy time doesn't mean you deserve to have a crummy time in the parks. Maybe they need to close the parks at some point, I don't know, but I still expect a decent day for my money.

 

[wisblue]

I hate not being able to rely on the posted wait times. It makes it really if you have an upcoming FP+ or ADR. Do you take the chance that the posted wait is accurate or do you skip it?

I really don't see the problem with this, especially with FP+ reservations. Even if your FP return time is just 15 minutes away, you have 90 minutes before the end of your return time (including the 15 minute grace period). If you get into any line with a posted wait time of 30 minutes or less you will be fine. If the ride happens to breakdown while you are in line or have an actual wait much longer than the posted wait, you can always leave the line and go to your FP attraction.

 

[Cormoran]

Just got back after using our 3 FP's for the evening. Tonight was relatively smooth, arrived at 8 and used the first for Buzz then did CoP, then BTMR, watched the fireworks when we exited, then did Space Mountain with our third FP when the SB wait was 75 minutes at 10:40pm. Caught the parade on the way out, took the monorail to TTC and walked to the car because the tram lines were very long, and got back to the condo at 11:55pm.

That's how it should work, and was intended to work on the first night (the 6th). Pretty productive day doing USO in the morning and MK in the evening with 3 FP's planned out and no breakdowns.

Oh, yeah - the inclination was not moving on the up side, just the down side. I asked the CM what the deal was and he said it's been up and down for a couple of months. I asked if it's been turned off or broken and he said broken.


Edit to add: I just checked my email and apparently we just dodged a breakdown tonight - looks like Space Mountain went down again right after we used our FP:

We're sorry, your previously confirmed FastPass+ selection for Space Mountain® from 10:45 PM to 11:45 PM on 03/16/2015 needs to be changed because the experience is temporarily unavailable.

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Glad to hear last night went well for you with your FP+ reservations. It's a shame that you've had issues with off line rides throughout your trip. Interesting about what the CM said about the People Mover inclination.

According to Touring Plans, last weeks crowds were lower than predicted. Here's the MK: predicted/actual. Mar 7th: 7/5; Mar 8th 7/4; Mar 9th 8/7; Mar 10th 8/6 ; Mar 11th 8/4; Mar 12th 5/7;
Mar 13th 8/6; Mar 14th 6/6.

Overall the crowds are lower than Touring plans predicted for the MK, but I'm reading about how crowded the parks are, so what's the deal? Do you think the parks feel crowded because more people are being shunted out of lines and into the public areas? Do you think that Disney is trying to "right size" staffing so that the attractions, restaurants,and general staff are not running at full capacity? I know this is all speculation, but I'm curious about what people think who have recently been in the parks.

 

[North of Mouse]

Are you going by posted wait times or the times you actually waited? We found the posted wait times all over the place. 30 would be posted and it would be a walk on OR 30 min posted and it would be twice that. Peter Pan wasn't even close. Neither was PoC. Both said 30 but one was at least 60 and the other a walk on.

So true!!! Just back, and we would be looking at our phone app, and looking right at the posted times in front of the ride and they were 'very' much off!! This happened 'every' day we were there for two weeks, as we started checking them on purpose. This was also at a 'relatively' slow time - very few were accurate!

 

[luvsJack]

I hate not being able to rely on the posted wait times. It makes it really if you have an upcoming FP+ or ADR. Do you take the chance that the posted wait is accurate or do you skip it?

It was a bit frustrating for some of the attractions. The CM's at some of the attractions would let you know that it was longer, some would not. It didn't matter too much sometimes, but for some thing like Peter Pan it really could mean the difference in missing your next FP or ADR.

 

[luvsJack]

I really don't see the problem with this, especially with FP+ reservations. Even if your FP return time is just 15 minutes away, you have 90 minutes before the end of your return time (including the 15 minute grace period). If you get into any line with a posted wait time of 30 minutes or less you will be fine. If the ride happens to breakdown while you are in line or have an actual wait much longer than the posted wait, you can always leave the line and go to your FP attraction.

It wasn't break downs though, it was just the times were off. Like I said above, it didn't always matter but if you have x amount of time and the wait time posted and ride time is under that, then you get in line and figure out its 90 minutes not what was posted, well it could cause a big problem. It didn't for us, but I could see how it could.

 

[wisblue]

It wasn't break downs though, it was just the times were off. Like I said above, it didn't always matter but if you have x amount of time and the wait time posted and ride time is under that, then you get in line and figure out its 90 minutes not what was posted, well it could cause a big problem. It didn't for us, but I could see how it could.

Yes, I get that, but with the actual one hour 20 minute window to use a FP, it shouldn't be hard to deal with unless the actual wait time turns out to be an hour or more longer than the posted time, and I don't see anyone reporting anything like that.

Plus, as I said, once you've been in a line for a while (like 15-20 minutes) you should have a pretty good idea if the wait is going to be a lot longer than what was posted. If that happens, and you start getting nervous about missing a reservation, you can get out of the line.

 

[Laketravis]

Interesting factoid that had absolutely nothing to do with FP - I got here on Friday 3/6 and it has not rained at all. The closest it came was Sunday 3/8 during the transition from cold front to warm front. Surely some kind of record.

Weather has been awesome.

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[amandals2007]

i do think the concept of FP+ is a great idea and i see why Disney implemented it. But for my family (and many others like mine) who have been there so many times and go for 10+days when we go, using FP+ takes away our freedom of choice to a degree. we make FP+ reservations for the first few days since we know where we will be going, but towards the end our plan of attack normally goes out the window because one day we will get more done than we planned so the next day we want to hit a different park, or we want to go back and redo something. well, with the FP+ system its harder to do that. its hard to change FP+ for the big rides once we have them booked. We tried. It really hurts us just waking up and deciding where we want to go since we really cant ride any good rides if we change our minds. Thats my only problem with it. Not as spur of the moment changes can be made.

 

[Angel Ariel]

So true!!! Just back, and we would be looking at our phone app, and looking right at the posted times in front of the ride and they were 'very' much off!! This happened 'every' day we were there for two weeks, as we started checking them on purpose. This was also at a 'relatively' slow time - very few were accurate!

Wait... so the posted time in front of the ride was different than the posted time on the app? That's what this seems to say, but I want to make sure I'm reading it right