Fastpass+ is cramping my style

[bcrook]

Or go back to a Legacy FP model using their fancy bands...

I think everyone just wants to pick their time for their ride rather than be assigned a random time. I don't think the booking in advance is appealing to most people. Or most people who like the convenience aspect of FP+ like having a guaranteed time of the day to work around for their park visit. There is no reason Disney couldn't have kept it the same as Legacy but allowed people to log in the day of the visit to casually grab what they want for the day over coffee at breakfast. Having the mad dash for Elsa and the mine train is no different at 12 hours than 60 days apparently. And at least those not in the know would have a better chance. If you miss it one day, you can try again the next.

Except, Disney couldn't use the data to staff their parks and make sure every day is a crowd level 7 type experience. That is maddening.

You are right those fancy bands will still clog up the FP entry lines regardless of how you get the FP. I just got my orange band, and my blue one is shipping in September. I have 4 now and my daughter has 5. I don't really understand the enthusiastic approach of continually mailing these to me. When I picked up my AP at guest services at DHS, the cm beamed when she told me I could get another magic band for buying the AP (that would be the orange one I just received). She said, "isn't it great, you can collect all the colors." It does seem wasteful. But now I can match almost any shirt I am wearing.

 

[bcrook]

I can't say I agree with your "plan every second of every day" statement.
I DO agree that it's good for the person who wants to plan... to ride 3 attractions in a day.
It's far too limited to allow planning for an ENTIRE day.

If there were only about 5-6 attractions in each park, I'd think of FP+ in a better light.
Of course, if there were only about 5-6 attractions in each park, I wouldn't go.

I guess you can plan your trip to Starbucks,
And plan on sitting 2.5 hours to wait for the evening show...except Fantasmic! I guess waiting there is not allowed. Everyone will just have to keep milling about for 2.5 hours.

Wouldn't it be funny if they tried to do that at the hub. Nobody can sit, and everyone had to keep moving around and around the hub like musical chairs until 30 minutes before the show. Then everyone could race to their spot.

 

[maxiesmom]

Or go back to a Legacy FP model using their fancy bands...

Would that be with enforcement of the time frames or not?

I can't see how going back to Legacy FP and holding people to the times given is an improvement over what we have now. It would take more work, walking to the ride, checking for the time frame, and then going back later.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Would that be with enforcement of the time frames or not?

I can't see how going back to Legacy FP and holding people to the times given is an improvement over what we have now. It would take more work, walking to the ride, checking for the time frame, and then going back later.

I think bcrook laid out a pretty effective idea a few posts ago. If be all for that idea since it at least allows for some level of planning as well as some
level of flexibility.

 

[bcrook]

Would that be with enforcement of the time frames or not?

I can't see how going back to Legacy FP and holding people to the times given is an improvement over what we have now. It would take more work, walking to the ride, checking for the time frame, and then going back later.

It would be on your phone. Or a kiosk in your resort. Or through your own iPad or computer through MDX. You could book at your resort on site or off site.

Get up in the morning,
Pick the ride you want on your phone over breakfast. Choose 7dmt at 4:15.

Then two hours later another slot opens up to book your next ride for whatever time you want. No running around and you have greater flexibility for the time you want rather than assigned the next time available.

Keep doing that until they are gone.

 

[mom2rtk]

It would be on your phone.

Get up in the morning,
Pick the ride you want on your phone over breakfast. Choose 7dmt at 4:15.

Then two hours later another slot opens up to book your next ride for whatever time you want. No running around and you have greater flexibility for the time you want rather than assigned the next time available.

Keep doing that until they are gone.

I think in theory, this would provide the best of both worlds.

In reality, I don't think Disney's IT could handle the massive daily load every morning. At least right now you only have onsite logging on 60 days out so that cuts the load some.

And I'd have to know what time that day's FPs opened before I could decide whether I even liked this in theory. If it opened at midnight...... or 5 AM, or 6 AM I would hate it. I wouldn't be able to resist the urge to be up every day to make sure we got what we wanted.

I really think the genie is out of the bottle and I'm not sure how they could put it back in.

I like the idea of waiting until you are in the park to start. That would diminish the number of people hitting the IT system at any given time, and makes things fair for people not traveling with a computer or smart phone.

 

[maxiesmom]

It would be on your phone. Or a kiosk in your resort. Or through your own iPad or computer through MDX. You could book at your resort on site or off site.

Get up in the morning,
Pick the ride you want on your phone over breakfast. Choose 7dmt at 4:15.

Then two hours later another slot opens up to book your next ride for whatever time you want. No running around and you have greater flexibility for the time you want rather than assigned the next time available.

Keep doing that until they are gone.

That would not be going back to Legacy FP. That is inventing it yet again. Also, if FP are released the day of, do you think really the system Disney has could handle that type of use without crashing?

 

[bcrook]

I think bcrook laid out a pretty effective idea a few posts ago. If be all for that idea since it at least allows for some level of planning as well as some
level of flexibility.

And anyone who screws up gets a fresh start everyday, they don't have to wait until their next trip to get a crack at it. Plus I could decide what park I wanted to do when I get up or at least the night before. I could change my mind on the way to the bus, and go online and switch my FP to a different park. Instead of 7dmt at 4:00, I will take the Safari at 11:30 am.

 

[mom2rtk]

And anyone who screws up gets a fresh start everyday, they don't have to wait until their next trip to get a crack at it.

That in itself is a very compelling argument.

 

[bcrook]

That would not be going back to Legacy FP. That is inventing it yet again. Also, if FP are released the day of, do you think really the system Disney has could handle that type of use without crashing?

It would be the legacy system. Grab a pass for one ride virtually, then grab another Two hours later when the new window opens up. The passes would just be for the time you want. Very similar to legacy.

 

[bcrook]

I think in theory, this would provide the best of both worlds.

In reality, I don't think Disney's IT could handle the massive daily load every morning. At least right now you only have onsite logging on 60 days out so that cuts the load some.

And I'd have to know what time that day's FPs opened before I could decide whether I even liked this in theory. If it opened at midnight...... or 5 AM, or 6 AM I would hate it. I wouldn't be able to resist the urge to be up every day to make sure we got what we wanted.

I really think the genie is out of the bottle and I'm not sure how they could put it back in.

I like the idea of waiting until you are in the park to start. That would diminish the number of people hitting the IT system at any given time, and makes things fair for people not traveling with a computer or smart phone.

Of course it would be contingent on the Disney IT system being able to handle it.

But with people only grabbing one pass... It would decrease the immediate demand. And you would only need to scramble for a few rides...TSMM and 7dmt. And that frozen stuff.

 

[momof2n2]

Would that be with enforcement of the time frames or not?

I can't see how going back to Legacy FP and holding people to the times given is an improvement over what we have now. It would take more work, walking to the ride, checking for the time frame, and then going back later.

Enforcement was always fine with me. I didn't even know you could scam the system when you could.
The only part that would make it unpleasant, IMO, is the size of the bands. But I'd be over the moon if they morphed FP+ back into more of a Legacy system. Only the rides that had FP originally would have this feature. Take your bands and tap them as opposed to how we slid the tickets through. I suppose bcrooks's idea would work, but I'd prefer it didn't start until we were actually within the park.

I like the idea of waiting until you are in the park to start. That would diminish the number of people hitting the IT system at any given time, and makes things fair for people not traveling with a computer or smart phone.

Me too. And this isn't a statement about it being more or less fair to off-site vs. on-site. It's about being able to change your mind until morning of. It's not locking into three months in advance. I want to decide as I am approaching a ride if I want to SB or FP based on what my family is experiencing at the moment. Did we get through X, or Y faster than we thought and now we want to stroll over to something? It's just about returning to a place where we are in the moment. Not relying on what sounded like it would work months earlier.

 

[bcrook]

That would not be going back to Legacy FP. That is inventing it yet again. Also, if FP are released the day of, do you think really the system Disney has could handle that type of use without crashing?

If Disney wanted it to, they could get it to work. It depends on if they want to cut into those profit margins they love so much.

Someday customer service at Disney will reign again. It just isn't a priority right now.

 

[maxiesmom]

If Disney wanted it to, they could get it to work. It depends on if they want to cut into those profit margins they love so much.

Someday customer service at Disney will reign again. It just isn't a priority right now.

I guess when someone posts ideas I think they are ones they belive will work with the systems Disney has in place now. Disney's web and phone systems are barely functioning as it is, we don't need them to overload them even more.

 

[mom2rtk]

If Disney wanted it to, they could get it to work. It depends on if they want to cut into those profit margins they love so much.

Someday customer service at Disney will reign again. It just isn't a priority right now.

Yeah, I think they'd rather put another layer of plating on Mr. Iger's golden parachute.

Didn't they just recently outsource a bunch of IT positions? That doesn't indicate to me even a remote level of interest in fixing their well known IT problems.

 

[bcrook]

I guess when someone posts ideas I think they are ones they belive will work with the systems Disney has in place now. Disney's web and phone systems are barely functioning as it is, we don't need them to overload them even more.

Well in that case the idea wouldn't work at all, they would have to reprogram the software to open up Fastpasses every two hours and limit to one at a time. There would have to be some changes.

My idea is one that could be done by programmers though, but not tomorrow.
As far as the glitchy system, that is inexplicable. It should work now. And having 80,000 people a day accessing a website to choose a fastpass should not be a problem beyond today's software programming skills. Especially with one of the largest companies in the world.

I bet Bank of America has more people access their online banking systems for much more complicated transactions than this. It should be an easy fix. Hire the best people and get it done.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I don't think anything will ever change about FP+ ever, at least until they get all of those rumored rides built

 

[bcrook]

I don't think anything will ever change about FP+ ever, at least until they get all of those rumored rides built

AHHH, but I'm an optimist. I see solutions. If Disney wanted this to be about good customer service they could switch it up very quickly. I still have 42 years left on my DVC contract, I'm hoping for an attitude adjustment on Disney's part.

But, with this revelation of how Disney can limit their staff and cut back on more costs with the MM+ data I am worried that the switch to customer happiness is further out of reach. But maybe with concern expressed in the AP survey that I filled out, the backlash could be effective.

When Disney asks their AP holders if they think Disney is being greedy or not, I have hope.

 

[ArwenMarie]

AHHH, but I'm an optimist. I see solutions. If Disney wanted this to be about good customer service they could switch it up very quickly. I still have 42 years left on my DVC contract, I'm hoping for an attitude adjustment on Disney's part.

But, with this revelation of how Disney can limit their staff and cut back on more costs with the MM+ data I am worried that the switch to customer happiness is further out of reach. But maybe with concern expressed in the AP survey that I filled out, the backlash could be effective.

When Disney asks their AP holders if they think Disney is being greedy or not, I have hope.

This has been in place for two years now roughly? And it hasn't really changed other than adding the tiers and adding the 4th FP. I think the 4th FP was a decision point...are we going to sell extras or not? And they realized they didn't have a steady-enough supply to justify setting up a purchase system.

I guess I can't see them doing anything big with it at this point until something else big changes in the parks.

I saw that AP survey question as testing the waters for a big price increase. Yes, I'm a cynic

 

[bcrook]

This has been in place for two years now roughly? And it hasn't really changed other than adding the tiers and adding the 4th FP. I think the 4th FP was a decision point...are we going to sell extras or not? And they realized they didn't have a steady-enough supply to justify setting up a purchase system.

I guess I can't see them doing anything big with it at this point until something else big changes in the parks.

I saw that AP survey question as testing the waters for a big price increase. Yes, I'm a cynic

I agree with you. I don't see Disney changing this system. I was saying if the backlash continued they COULD change it. And they could change it quickly.

They have shown in the past, that they don't even care about planned vacations and how they are affected with the changes like when they unleashed all the resort FP+ visitors with ability to prebook and grab legacy. That really hurt those without access. Or with the Fantasmic FP holders during the tests last week. Their teir 1 picks made invalid. So change could be initiated in a short period of time.

As for the survey, I would love to see those questions again. I perceived them as Disney showing concern about a drop in AP sales, but I guess your right. If people answered the survey by saying that WDW is not greedy, not too expensive, the cost is about right, I view my WDW vacation as a bargain. That would justify a price increase or pricing tiers. I can't imagine anyone saying that WDW is a bargain though. The thought of that blows my mind.

Oh Yeah, the completion of all those rumored rides would help the most in regards to FP+. Let's fast track them and get them done by 2019.