Fastpass/Fastpass+ Mutually Exclusive?

[reelmom]

Out of curiosity .... why would the new FP+ system deter you from going to Disney?

We were already planning on going to Universal this year anyways because we have AP's that will still be valid this summer. The FP+ was just part of the reason I said I was glad that we won't be going to Disney this summer. I am also worried about all the new technology with the RFID cards. I know it is a low risk but it is still a risk of information being stolen. When Disney states this and that they are not responsible for the outcome in the event your info is stolen, it is worrisome. I will be going back to Disney. I would go this summer if I didn't have 3 traitors in my household. I was just stating that I was glad that we weren't going this summer so that Disney could work all the kinks out.

 

[hookedonears]

We were already planning on going to Universal this year anyways because we have AP's that will still be valid this summer. The FP+ was just part of the reason I said I was glad that we won't be going to Disney this summer. I am also worried about all the new technology with the RFID cards. I know it is a low risk but it is still a risk of information being stolen. When Disney states this and that they are not responsible for the outcome in the event your info is stolen, it is worrisome. I will be going back to Disney. I would go this summer if I didn't have 3 traitors in my household. I was just stating that I was glad that we weren't going this summer so that Disney could work all the kinks out.

I'm always worried about any new fangled thing.

 

[mousermerf]

Based on what I saw at the park this past week, I think people are jumping to conclusions on this. It looked like to me some people were using screens with their FP+ card to make/change reservations as well. All I read the new T&C to mean is that you can't have both the FP+ card and paper tickets allowing you to double up on fastpasses. That makes perfect sense. You get all your fastpasses through one method.

There's nothing to suggest at all that with FP+ your fastpasses will be limited to 3-4 choices you may pre-book. I think it's much more likely that you pre book some and can use the FP+ card to get fastpasses like you always did during other windows - they'd just be added to the card rather than giving you a paper ticket.

The kiosks are only being installed at select locations (like one per "land" at the MK) making the idea that they are to be used for scheduling by the masses highly unlikely.

FP+ was created to restrict FP "abuse" such as getting multiple FP for the same attraction. Abuse is used loosely, but really it's an unintended use of the system. Disney does not want people getting more than one FP for a ride per person per day. They want it spread out over guests more evenly. The system is not meant to cater to "superusers" and the new design is specifically to combat those advantages and level the playing field.

Even during testing though, superusers are prevailing because they know you don't need a FP for Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, whereas many newbies go "oh gee, I don't want to miss that new addition to MK!"

 

[seashoreCM]

(copied from another forum)
I favor some restriction on use of "regular" fastpasses if you use Fastpass Plus. For example, if you had booked three rides using Fastpass Plus then you would be blocked from fetching regular fastpasses for six hours (three times the normal two hour delay) after you entered the park. (Perhaps less if the ride you are trying to get a regular fastpass for imposes a smaller worst case delay between fastpasses e.g. one hour for the Princess meet and greet.)

 

[macraven]

i did the trial this year for fass pass +.
it worked fine, even with the advanced scheduling of the rides, fw and parade.

i'll be back at the motherland in september.
i'm sure info on the new system will be in place by that time.
so far, this thread has been an interesting read.


i just go with the flow.
i'll try anything a couple of times before i make a decision on it.



Mesa, i truly enjoy your posts and thoughts on this subject.

 

[mesaboy2]

i did the trial this year for fass pass +.
it worked fine, even with the advanced scheduling of the rides, fw and parade.

i'll be back at the motherland in september.
i'm sure info on the new system will be in place by that time.
so far, this thread has been an interesting read.

i just go with the flow.
i'll try anything a couple of times before i make a decision on it.

Mesa, i truly enjoy your posts and thoughts on this subject.

You are too kind.

You are absolutely correct, as usual, that we should see what the final product is before passing final judgment. But I will say that this system certainly appears to be fundamentally based on guests setting up a pre-planned schedule days and weeks in advance, which of course runs counter to the "go with the flow" touring style that you, I, and many, many others enjoy.

 

[WillAustin]

The kiosks are only being installed at select locations (like one per "land" at the MK) making the idea that they are to be used for scheduling by the masses highly unlikely.

FP+ was created to restrict FP "abuse" such as getting multiple FP for the same attraction. Abuse is used loosely, but really it's an unintended use of the system. Disney does not want people getting more than one FP for a ride per person per day. They want it spread out over guests more evenly. The system is not meant to cater to "superusers" and the new design is specifically to combat those advantages and level the playing field.

Even during testing though, superusers are prevailing because they know you don't need a FP for Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, whereas many newbies go "oh gee, I don't want to miss that new addition to MK!"

If the ultimate goal is to keep each guest limited to one FP per top tier attraction per day, they'll end up with a lot of complaints. We absolutely won't get in any line over 20 minutes, so it probably sucks for us in the long run as far as being able to ride a favorite ride multiple times without a standby wait.

The people that will benefit are those that wouldn't have used FP in the first place until now when they are told they have to pick their rides in advance. They'll think they are getting a great deal being able to ride a top attraction without a 60-90 minute wait, even if they only get one or two FPs for any rides that matter.

I'm still really curious if they plan to do away with in-park FPs or will they make them available via smartphone, but still limit people to 4 attractions per day.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

And of course, none of this matters because on December 21st, the world is going to end.

They try to troubleshoot as many possibilities as are probable, however, once they reach the odds of being rescued by a passing space craft before dying from the asphyxiation in the vacuum of space, which, as you know is really 2 to the power of 267,709 to one against, they are unlikely to have considered all odds.

So they only come up with 42 possibilities.

~Wow, this is really depressing , but the math is awesome!

Based on what I saw at the park this past week, I think people are jumping to conclusions on this. It looked like to me some people were using screens with their FP+ card to make/change reservations as well. All I read the new T&C to mean is that you can't have both the FP+ card and paper tickets allowing you to double up on fastpasses. That makes perfect sense. You get all your fastpasses through one method.

There's nothing to suggest at all that with FP+ your fastpasses will be limited to 3-4 choices you may pre-book. I think it's much more likely that you pre book some and can use the FP+ card to get fastpasses like you always did during other windows - they'd just be added to the card rather than giving you a paper ticket.

~Yay, another awesome post! Thanks so much for sharing your perspective! During, the FP+ trail, guests had to choose 3-4 options per park per day, so that's where most of the assumptions are coming from. I really hope you are right, because I would love to be able to use FP+, the way you described! I hadn't thought of how flexible FP+ could be, but if Disney makes us choose one way or the other, I'm definitely choosing FP+!

 

[joedplumber]

So let me get this straight.

If I use FP+. Each evening while the kiddies are sleeping I can hop onto my iPad and plan what rides and what times I want to go on them?

That is awesome!!!!

Hmm.. I think I will start my day at 11am at MK and have all my ride times booked talk about a huge time saver.

I think I would leave 30 - 60 minute windows every now and then in the day for the unexpected.... i.e character run in...

 

[mesaboy2]

So let me get this straight.

If I use FP+. Each evening while the kiddies are sleeping I can hop onto my iPad and plan what rides and what times I want to go on them?

That is awesome!!!!

Hmm.. I think I will start my day at 11am at MK and have all my ride times booked talk about a huge time saver.

I think I would leave 30 - 60 minute windows every now and then in the day for the unexpected.... i.e character run in...

I'm not sure the system will quite work that way and be that flexible. We'll see.

 

[mom2rtk]

So let me get this straight.

If I use FP+. Each evening while the kiddies are sleeping I can hop onto my iPad and plan what rides and what times I want to go on them?

That is awesome!!!!

Hmm.. I think I will start my day at 11am at MK and have all my ride times booked talk about a huge time saver.

I think I would leave 30 - 60 minute windows every now and then in the day for the unexpected.... i.e character run in...

1) It is quite possible you would be planning your ride times 60 days out for the more popular attractions.

2) It could be absolutely great for those who wish to ride 4 things plus a few standby things. I'm used to pulling more than 4 FPs a day, so I'll have to think long and hard if the 2 systems are indeed mutually exclusive.

 

[grimley1968]

Like a lot of other things in life lately, this conservative guy will be standing athwart Disney on this one, yelling "Stop!"

They're really about to mess up what has been a great thing, for Disney and for its guests.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

We were not in the test phase, but were staying DVC at Boardwalk. That said after experiencing severe lack of regular fast passes on certain attractions during our visit I am kind of worried. I know Toy Story Mania is probably the busiest ride at Hollywood Studios and maybe all of the parks, but still. We went on a Saturday (the 15th, big mistake, lol) with extra magic hours. By 8:30 the fast passes were for 5pm and by 9am (regular park opening) all fast passes were gone. Castmembers said it was due to the limited number of fastpasses with the new Fastpass+ testing. What is going to happen when this is out of the test phase? Is it going to be like hard to get ADR's? Will they limit the # of fast passes through Fastpass+ so people can still get them in the parks for busier attractions? The line was 100 minutes by 9:45am because of lack of fastpasses (my opinion on why the stand by was so long). CRAZY!

 

[book_junkie]

And of course, none of this matters because on December 21st, the world is going to end.

They try to troubleshoot as many possibilities as are probable, however, once they reach the odds of being rescued by a passing space craft before dying from the asphyxiation in the vacuum of space, which, as you know is really 2 to the power of 267,709 to one against, they are unlikely to have considered all odds.

So they only come up with 42 possibilities.

and always know where your towel is.

 

[mattsdragon]

and always know where your towel is.

I am one sassy frood.

 

[jdonat]

We were part of the FP+ test the last weekend. It was for Resort Guests using DME. We set up the experiences before we left. We were limited to stuff at the MK and DHS. We set up 4 at MK and 3 at DHS on different days. Worked ok, with some bugs that we'll let WDW know about -couple times the FP+ did not see the current FP+ slot, but the next FP+ slot. We had no issues getting on, as the management CM's working the FP+ entrances admitted that this stuff was very new, and still had bugs. We're AP holders, so for this test, the FP+ and our AP's were not linked at all. We were able for this test to use both the FP+ and the older 'original' FP's. We used the FP's at multiple parks on the days we had the FP+ for the MK and DHS. We're keeping out AP's for the forseeable future, and when talking to some of the CM's working the FP+ management kiosks in the MK, and they had no idea yet how they were going to link FP+ and AP holders. So, we'll see what happens. The comment from one of the CM's at the FP+ kiosk indicated that their goal was for a guest to get to see/go through/ride at least 8 'experiences' every day.
We'll see what else develops. We're AP and DVC members, so if WDW decides to grant FP+ to someone other than WDW resort guests we'd probably get them.
Again, we'll see. The indication from the 'suits' at the FP+ kiosk said that who gets FP+'s and how they work with FP's are still being worked out/

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

So let me get this straight.

If I use FP+. Each evening while the kiddies are sleeping I can hop onto my iPad and plan what rides and what times I want to go on them?

That is awesome!!!!

Hmm.. I think I will start my day at 11am at MK and have all my ride times booked talk about a huge time saver.

I think I would leave 30 - 60 minute windows every now and then in the day for the unexpected.... i.e character run in...

~It is awesome! There were several reviews & first-hand reports of FP+ -- and all of them were overwhelmingly positive. It's sounds like FP+ is going to be both flexible & fabulous! It's so exciting!

EDIT: I just read a fabulous first-hand report about FP+ and she was able to make changes to her FP's, right on her iPhone!!! So, we'll see!

 

[MelanieRI]

I remember when the dinning plan came out and how much I hated it. All the sudden you had to pick your ressies months in advance and plan your whole vacation around that! Hmm, 120 days from now I think I'll feel like Italian for dinner and plan to be at Epcot on that day. Non-disney goers look at me like I'm crazy about the amount of planning that goes into a disney vaca.

Now, you have to plan which ride you want to do 60 days out? Ugh. Reading the limits on FP+ is giving me dread for the future. As a beloved park hopper gal and a multiple fast pass rider, I think I'll be sticking without FP+ for as long as possible. If I love riding Space Mountain and want to try to do it 2x in one day and bypass using a FP for something else, this system totally takes that freedom away. Not to mention being trapped at one park. I guess time will tell.

 

[QueenElinor]

We were part of the FP+ test the last weekend. It was for Resort Guests using DME. We set up the experiences before we left. We were limited to stuff at the MK and DHS. We set up 4 at MK and 3 at DHS on different days. Worked ok, with some bugs that we'll let WDW know about -couple times the FP+ did not see the current FP+ slot, but the next FP+ slot. We had no issues getting on, as the management CM's working the FP+ entrances admitted that this stuff was very new, and still had bugs. We're AP holders, so for this test, the FP+ and our AP's were not linked at all. We were able for this test to use both the FP+ and the older 'original' FP's. We used the FP's at multiple parks on the days we had the FP+ for the MK and DHS. We're keeping out AP's for the forseeable future, and when talking to some of the CM's working the FP+ management kiosks in the MK, and they had no idea yet how they were going to link FP+ and AP holders. So, we'll see what happens. The comment from one of the CM's at the FP+ kiosk indicated that their goal was for a guest to get to see/go through/ride at least 8 'experiences' every day.
We'll see what else develops. We're AP and DVC members, so if WDW decides to grant FP+ to someone other than WDW resort guests we'd probably get them.
Again, we'll see. The indication from the 'suits' at the FP+ kiosk said that who gets FP+'s and how they work with FP's are still being worked out/

After the first FP trial, I signed up for ME in order to get our family in the running in case another FP+ trial was undertaken, and it worked! We also had a good experience with them- in addition, I left the FP+ cards back in the room on our MK day. A CM at the turnstile directed me to City Hall and they were able to look up my FP+ and reload new cards. I checked them at the kiosks and they showed the right attractions, and worked just fine later.

Fortunately, I had decided to get them for Enchanted Tales with Belle and Ariel's Undersea Adventure. Both of those had lines exceeding 80 minutes and there's no way we'd have waited even half that long for either of them.

The main problem I see with the FP+ (aside from the park-hopping problem) is that they don't allow for repeats of the same attraction. If you're an early riser, riding standby and then using your FP+ is still easily do-able, but that third ride probably is not. If you're not an early riser, you've got your FP+ and that's it. People who just love riding one ride multiple times are going to be out of luck, or find themselves waiting in line far more than in the past. My kids are at an age where the coasters are what they want- MK would be a tough sell without multiple trips on the Mountains- with this system, on a busy day they would do Space Mountain twice and the others just once. Not good.

 

[larryz]

Speculation about FP+ is so entertaining someone should charge admission.

And then issue FPs to line up to read them...