fastpass+ practical mixed feelings

[johde]

To me, some of these things don't sound like FP+ problems, but just large group problems. I'm not saying the software is perfect. But, people seem to want to lay blame where it may not be warranted.

For example, my mother does not do thrill rides. But she wants to do kilimanjaro with us. Others in the group want to fastpass Everest. .. so we have to spin the wheel and hope we can line this up OR she books the thrill ride and wastes get fp+ entries on rides she will not do. .. doesn't seem right .

What happened under FP- when all of you are standing in front of Everest ready to get a FP. Does she pull a FP for something else. If not, than she had 1 fewer FP than everyone else in the group. Under FP+ theoretically she could book a different attraction with the same return time as your Everest FP. Or suppose everyone wants to ride KS Everybody but mom wants to ride EE, and half the group wants Nemo and half the group wants Lion King. If you book them at different times, mom could do KS, Nemo and Lion King.

What happens when in the park, while split up, 2 people out of 12 want to change their FP plans, but then when we are back as a group they have burned their 3rd FP and now we can't all FP ride c) ??? Where as before, they could have pulled an FP, rode it, then pulled another with us later !?

The same thing could happen under FP- to an extent. For example, everyone could agree to meet for lunch at Tusker House at noon and pull a FP for KS just before dining so you could all ride together after lunch. At 11:30 those 2 people pull a FP- for Everest with a return time of 3:00. Now, when everyone meets at noon for lunch, their blocked from getting another FP- until 1:30. It may be a lot of work but under FP+ you can know at the start of the day everyone has a 1:00 FP+ for KS. With FP+ you know going in your return time will be right after lunch and not left up to chance like FP-

 

[magicbob]

But we're starting to run out of cookies

I know, that just isn't fair. Maybe we should ration them out?

3 Cookies per guest! But you only get one chocolate chip cookie OR one oatmeal raisin cookie (those are both tier 1 cookies). You can select from peanut butter cookies or sugar cookies for your other two selections.

 

[mom2rtk]

3 Cookies per guest! But you only get one chocolate chip cookie OR one oatmeal raisin cookie (those are both tier 1 cookies). You can select from peanut butter cookies or sugar cookies for you other two selections.

But what if I have a peanut allergy?

Just sayin'.

But other than that?

 

[monkistan]

3 Cookies per guest! But you only get one chocolate chip cookie OR one oatmeal raisin cookie (those are both tier 1 cookies). You can select from peanut butter cookies or sugar cookies for your other two selections.

Can I enjoy the cookies right now, or must I make my selections now and enjoy in 60 days?

 

[fitzperry]

To me, some of these things don't sound like FP+ problems, but just large group problems. I'm not saying the software is perfect. But, people seem to want to lay blame where it may not be warranted.



What happened under FP- when all of you are standing in front of Everest ready to get a FP. Does she pull a FP for something else. If not, than she had 1 fewer FP than everyone else in the group. Under FP+ theoretically she could book a different attraction with the same return time as your Everest FP. Or suppose everyone wants to ride KS Everybody but mom wants to ride EE, and half the group wants Nemo and half the group wants Lion King. If you book them at different times, mom could do KS, Nemo and Lion King.



The same thing could happen under FP- to an extent. For example, everyone could agree to meet for lunch at Tusker House at noon and pull a FP for KS just before dining so you could all ride together after lunch. At 11:30 those 2 people pull a FP- for Everest with a return time of 3:00. Now, when everyone meets at noon for lunch, their blocked from getting another FP- until 1:30. It may be a lot of work but under FP+ you can know at the start of the day everyone has a 1:00 FP+ for KS. With FP+ you know going in your return time will be right after lunch and not left up to chance like FP-

That's the problem with FP+. It's too much work.

In your first scenario, for example, if we're all standing at EE under the old regime and someone doesn't want to ride, he or she can decide then what to do--go get a FP for something else, shop, eat, whatever. But if I'm booking FP+ for everyone, I either have to make the decision for the non-thrill riders or confer with them so they can decide what they want to do in AK in two months at whatever time, which might depend on a lot of different variables unknown at the time of the FP+ booking (are they hungry?; do their feet hurt?; how crowded is the park?; did they stay out too late last night and so just want to rest for a few minutes?). So I suppose the non-thrill-seekers can try to change the FP+ on the fly and do whatever they want while we ride EE (just like they would have before FP+), but then scheduling the FP+ in the first place was just an unnecessary inconvenience.

Also, when you're not limited to 3 FP's/day, missing out on one the rest of the group does is less of an issue. FP+ is just too inflexible.

 

[fitzperry]

Can I enjoy the cookies right now, or must I make my selections now and enjoy in 60 days?

If you want to enjoy them today, your only option is fig newtons that are past their expiration date.

 

[johde]

Can I enjoy the cookies right now, or must I make my selections now and enjoy in 60 days?

With you want to guarantee your selection of cookies you can place an order up to 60 days in advance along with what time you plan on arriving to get your cookies. If you don' feel like placing your order in advance there is a standby like you can also get as many cookies as you want (limit 1 per trip through the line). Since we pride ourselves on hot fresh from the over cookies, the standby line could get a little bit long, especially for the chocolate chip.

 

[magicbob]

But what if I have a peanut allergy?

Just sayin'.

But other than that?

I could bake some more chocolate chip cookies, but instead I'm expanding cookie+ to include a number of under-utilized options. Those with peanut allergies can opt for a flaxseed cookie or a communion wafer.

Can I enjoy the cookies right now, or must I make my selections now and enjoy in 60 days?

Currently, only onsite guests can pre-reserve their cookies. Off-site can sign up at the cookie kiosk that morning. We might have a few Nilla wafers left to choose from.

 

[Laketravis]

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[FlipHipster]

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[Shaden]

The technology is good. But the notion of scheduling a 2 minute ride on a roller coaster 2 months in advance just seems a little crazy to me. It's a very inflexible system. 15 thumbs down from our family.

When you put it that way, it kinda does.

For a little more perspective ...

87 840 minutes in advance, to book a 2 minute ride ...

 

[fitzperry]

For a little more perspective ...

87 840 minutes in advance, to book a 2 minute ride ...

Much as I love TOT and Splash, FP+ makes them seem anticlimactic . . . . Which can't be what Disney is going for here.

 

[Planogirl]

I thought that Universal was the Darkside?

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Love it!

 

[xipetotec]

Having actually spoken to a co-worker who recently went and THEN AFTER reading a few of the replies here I do have to concede something.

I did NOT realize that you could go in afterwards and change individual entries in your plan. The way I had originally seen the system, I thought you had to book all 3 and if you needed to change them, change all 3.

This, at least, gives me some room to move to plan my big gang. I can then book three attractions for everyone to get everyone in certain time slots for certain rides, then I can change attractions of 1 or 2 time slots for those who don't want in on those rides. Or better yet ( and this is actually what I plan to do ), I book everyone for the rides everyone does together. Then tell *THEM* to rebook themselves in whatever the heck they want for the others.

 

[mom2rtk]

Having actually spoken to a co-worker who recently went and THEN AFTER reading a few of the replies here I do have to concede something.

I did NOT realize that you could go in afterwards and change individual entries in your plan. The way I had originally seen the system, I thought you had to book all 3 and if you needed to change them, change all 3.

This, at least, gives me some room to move to plan my big gang. I can then book three attractions for everyone to get everyone in certain time slots for certain rides, then I can change attractions of 1 or 2 time slots for those who don't want in on those rides. Or better yet ( and this is actually what I plan to do ), I book everyone for the rides everyone does together. Then tell *THEM* to rebook themselves in whatever the heck they want for the others.

Honestly, it shouldn't require that you have inside information to do something basic like this.

Glad you figured it out though!

 

[fitzperry]

Having actually spoken to a co-worker who recently went and THEN AFTER reading a few of the replies here I do have to concede something.

I did NOT realize that you could go in afterwards and change individual entries in your plan. The way I had originally seen the system, I thought you had to book all 3 and if you needed to change them, change all 3.

This, at least, gives me some room to move to plan my big gang. I can then book three attractions for everyone to get everyone in certain time slots for certain rides, then I can change attractions of 1 or 2 time slots for those who don't want in on those rides. Or better yet ( and this is actually what I plan to do ), I book everyone for the rides everyone does together. Then tell *THEM* to rebook themselves in whatever the heck they want for the others.

The thing is you shouldn't have to jump through so many hoops to get the fast passes you want. It's silly that you have to schedule three at a time and can't choose them individually. It's nuts that you can choose one and change the time OR the attraction but not both. The whole thing is unnecessarily cumbersome. I've been wondering whether Disney is actively trying to assert that much control over the process and discourage guests from customizing fast passes to suit their needs or whether Disney's IT people are really that clueless about how guests will use the system.

Good luck with your planning

 

[Muddypaws]

Normally I would say that nothing Disney does is by accident, but when it comes to anything to do with IT... their record is less than stellar.

My dh (an IT professional) figures that it should be a drag and drop interface.

 

[fitzperry]

Normally I would say that nothing Disney does is by accident, but when it comes to anything to do with IT... their record is less than stellar.

I agree completely.

My dh (an IT professional) figures that it should be a drag and drop interface.

That would be a big improvement, IMO. It's astonishing to me how many screens you have to go through in order to accomplish anything. It doesn't have to be that way. And it becomes even more aggravating when you factor in how frequently the app crashes or locks up.

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Darnnet!!!! I got the freaking Donald Duck error message when ordering my beer, popcorn and cookies!!!! Are these things tiered???

 

[Spriesty]

This isn't a good thing for the anti-commando, "What do we feel like doing today?" crowd.

My husband doesn't like to be tied down to any type of schedule while we're on vacation. He doesn't even like to make ADR's. (Gasp, I know, right?) I made 1 ADR for our last trip, and that almost caused a divorce, lol. Not really that drastic, but he made it clear that he was unhappy. We were travelling with a group of 12, half of which had never been before. The mother of the other group wanted to do a character dinner, and obviously that's something you have to schedule in advance. DH knew about those plans well before we even left home, but when it came time to leave MK and head to EP because we had 5pm dinner reservations he was giving everyone the stink-eye.

And if the stink-eye wasn't bad enough, we apparently didn't schedule quite enough travel time to get 7 kids out of the park, to the other park, and through EP to get to the restaurant. So he was scared to death that we were going to be 2 minutes late, which turned him into The Time Nazi. The Time Nazi is not a fun guy, just sayin.

The Time Nazi is the type of guy that would say, "We're going to be late, and they're going to give our table away. We have all these kids that are supposed to meet Mickey, what are you going to do when that doesn't happen? Crying, hungry, disappointed kids. And all this time wasted, leaving MK where everyone was happy and having fun, to spend all that time sitting on the monorail, only to be told that we can't meet Mickey and we can't eat. Then what? More time wasted on the monorail going back to MK?"

And The Time Nazi is the type of guy who would announce every single time change.

"It's 4:42 and we haven't even gotten to EP yet."

"It's 4:43, and who knows how long the line will be to get in the park and get our stroller and bags checked."

"It's 4:44, you know it's going to take 20 minutes just to get to the restaurant, right?"

In order to appease The Time Nazi, once we got into EP, myself and my BIL literally ran, non-stop, to the restaurant, arriving at 4:56, having to repeat my name 3 times because the CM couldn't understand me since I was gasping for breath so hard.

This did not make things better, because The Time Nazi was with the group of people that had 7 children with small bladders, and they had to do a bathroom stop. So his group showed up to the restaurant at 5:06, which meant that he (The Time Nazi) was still late, and we all know how Time Nazi's feel about being late.

He's not always The Time Nazi, but when he is, it's at WDW.

How am I supposed to break the news to The Time Nazi that we have to schedule our fastpasses 60 days out? And can you imagine what I'll have to endure?

"We only have 6,573 minutes to get to WDW, check into the resort, get to AK, get all the way over to the other side of the park to make sure we're at EE on time."