For those who think only DISers hate FP+, check their Facebook page

[JanaDee]

THIS.

This was a huge thing that I hated about MM+/FP+. I sit at a computer for 8+ hours a day at work. I use my smart phone constantly in every day life to keep track of appointments. I go on vacation to get away from this and relax!! I was on my phone so much in November it was pathetic. I hated it.

I did, too.

 

[Marie17]

Um.... just saw the commercials.

To me it makes me feel this whole idea has jumped the shark.

Those were extremely cheesy. Are they really planning to run them on TV?

 

[xie]

I think we are all missing the point about the app.

If Disney can get you to use the app, then it's one less guest standing in line for a CM. The fewer guests that need to interact with a CM, the fewer employees Disney has to pay.

I don't think they had your "desire to untether" on vacation in mind at all. I think they had their desire to make (or force) this to be as much self-service as possible because it reduces their headcount needs.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I did, too.

This was probably the worst part for my on my trip last week, but I needed to be connected for work anyway so really didn't think about it. By the end of the week I had created a calendar entry on my phone with my FP+ times to avoid the need to connect to that app - which stinks. If we decided to make a change during the day, we went to a kiosk to avoid the use of the app on our phones. This made it easier for us.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

This was probably the worst part for my on my trip last week, but I needed to be connected for work anyway so really didn't think about it. By the end of the week I had created a calendar entry on my phone with my FP+ times to avoid the need to connect to that app - which stinks. If we decided to make a change during the day, we went to a kiosk to avoid the use of the app on our phones. This made it easier for us.

This is how I was, too, on our last trip. In OCTOBER. I cannot believe they haven't improved that stupid app months later.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I think we are all missing the point about the app.

If Disney can get you to use the app, then it's one less guest standing in line for a CM. The fewer guests that need to interact with a CM, the fewer employees Disney has to pay.

I don't think they had your "desire to untether" on vacation in mind at all. I think they had their desire to make (or force) this to be as much self-service as possible because it reduces their headcount needs.

I agree, but also consider that most guests probably have no real desire to "untether". So many Americans now consider their mobile devices to be an essential appliance in their day to day lives. We use them to manage so many things today, and they are also used as cameras.

I think that this factored into Disney thinking - that Americans want to be connected and this is a way to let them be. I mean, consider the popularity of the other phone apps meant to be used while in the parks to tell us which parks to visit and ride wait times. There are free apps and pay apps that have almost everything, from maps with directions to attractions from where you are currently standing to dining menus.

 

[bumbershoot]

Or maybe Universal should incorporate that into some sort of ad campaign to highlight the differences between the parks........... Man, that could be fun.

Full disclosure, currently on my phone in the club lounge at my uni resort, ignoring everyone around me and the tv to interact with people on the dis. Then again, my family is in the room and the other families here are all interacting with each other.

Fun you should say that. Last night I was checking what was on the travel channel, and there was an ad for Universal. It was all about a family with a teen girl who spends the entire day at the park staring down at her device, seemingly missing everything around her, while the father tries not to get annoyed. Finally, at the end, she sends him a message saying this was the best vacation ever.

People can definitely use tech in a way that might look awful but isn't. Some people are better at multitasking. There's another ad (maybe for a cellphone service?) with a boy staring at his phone for days but it turns out he has been recording all these lovely moments and he makes a movie of it all to show everyone. Of course not everyone is doing this.

I thought that as soon as Disney started using the phrase "no shows" in official wording about the cc guarantees that it was all over. Of course they would move to use phrases like "locked in". They are forgetting that words to be used behind the scenes shouldn't be heard by us.

 

[xie]

I agree, but also consider that most guests probably have no real desire to "untether". So many Americans now consider their mobile devices to be an essential appliance in their day to day lives. We use them to manage so many things today, and they are also used as cameras.

I think that this factored into Disney thinking - that Americans want to be connected and this is a way to let them be. I mean, consider the popularity of the other phone apps meant to be used while in the parks to tell us which parks to visit and ride wait times. There are free apps and pay apps that have almost everything, from maps with directions to attractions from where you are currently standing to dining menus.

Teens and young adults perhaps.

But those of us who have demanding employers on the other end of the leash are more than happy to put down the phones for a few days. Trust me on that. For a lot of us, saying "I will not be carrying my phone during the day while I am out of the office, I will only check and reply to messages once a day" is the only way to get some peace. At least if it's in the hotel safe you can easily ignore it when it rings.

I also have a spouse who is so burdened with work responsibilities that he can't stay out of the email, unless I put the phone away. Disney giving him an excuse to carry it is not what we needed.

 

[JanaDee]

This was probably the worst part for my on my trip last week, but I needed to be connected for work anyway so really didn't think about it. By the end of the week I had created a calendar entry on my phone with my FP+ times to avoid the need to connect to that app - which stinks. If we decided to make a change during the day, we went to a kiosk to avoid the use of the app on our phones. This made it easier for us.

The app has been stinky since the very first day it rolled out. I used it on 3 trips in 2013...it never improved.

 

[kmarie99]

I don't understand why FP+ is making you stare at your phone all day long???? You set a time for 3 fastpasses and that is it, I don't get why that would make you miss everything around you. If you had to check the times or make changes you can to them in that SB lines you are waiting in for the rest of the rides.
Maybe I am missing something, can someone explain?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I don't understand why FP+ is making you stare at your phone all day long???? You set a time for 3 fastpasses and that is it, I don't get why that would make you miss everything around you. If you had to check the times or make changes you can to them in that SB lines you are waiting in for the rest of the rides.
Maybe I am missing something, can someone explain?

First, you have to remember your ride times or write them down. We were using the app to avoid the need to do either until we started creating calendar entries.

Second, you have to use the app if you want to change your "reservation", which is not uncommon and is an advertised feature/perk of the new FP+ system. We eventually switched to the kiosks for this service.

So, you don't have to use the app in the park, and we stopped because it is so bad, but if it was well designed it would be pretty cool. Beats having to manage a whole bunch of paper fastpasses.

 

[JanaDee]

First, you have to remember your ride times or write them down. We were using the app to avoid the need to do either until we started creating calendar entries.

Second, you have to use the app if you want to change your "reservation", which is not uncommon and is an advertised feature/perk of the new FP+ system. We eventually switched to the kiosks for this service.

So, you don't have to use the app in the park, and we stopped because it is so bad, but if it was well designed it would be pretty cool. Beats having to manage a whole bunch of paper fastpasses.

We also used the app to check wait times.

 

[kmarie99]

First, you have to remember your ride times or write them down. We were using the app to avoid the need to do either until we started creating calendar entries.

Second, you have to use the app if you want to change your "reservation", which is not uncommon and is an advertised feature/perk of the new FP+ system. We eventually switched to the kiosks for this service.

So, you don't have to use the app in the park, and we stopped because it is so bad, but if it was well designed it would be pretty cool. Beats having to manage a whole bunch of paper fastpasses.

That makes sense, thank you for your feed back

p.s. that is a great idea about the calendar entries!

 

[xie]

I don't understand why FP+ is making you stare at your phone all day long???? You set a time for 3 fastpasses and that is it, I don't get why that would make you miss everything around you. If you had to check the times or make changes you can to them in that SB lines you are waiting in for the rest of the rides.
Maybe I am missing something, can someone explain?

Oh, if only it were that easy.

1. You have to remember the times, which means if you have ADRs also, is a lot of times; so your choices are to write them down on a paper for reference, or pull out your phone.

2. You booked a FP for a headliner, and for some odd reason (rare, but still possible) when you get there, the standby is 5-10 minutes. You decide to ride standby and rebook the FP for a second ride (or different ride) later. Guess what you need to do?

3. Disney has just closed the ride your FP was for because rain or because broken. They've given you an omni-pass to pick any other ride in the park to FP. Guess what you need to do?

4. Disney just seated you 1 hour late for your table service reservation, so by the time you are finished eating, you are going to miss your next FP window because you can't get there in time. Guess what you need to do?

Yes, all of the above and more happened to us on our trip a few weeks back.

 

[morethananyonex]

I don't understand why FP+ is making you stare at your phone all day long???? You set a time for 3 fastpasses and that is it, I don't get why that would make you miss everything around you. If you had to check the times or make changes you can to them in that SB lines you are waiting in for the rest of the rides. Maybe I am missing something, can someone explain?

The times you are standing in he SB line are not always when you need to change a FP.

Likely the times most people need to change a time they scheduled 2 months ago have nothing to do with choosing to get in a SB line instead of riding. For example, when they couldn't arrive when they ideally wanted to (change on Disney transport or walking in the park), when they take longer than expected to eat (change in restaurant or walking), when someone needs longer in a bathroom than the expected (change when walking), when they underestimate how long it takes to get around a park (change when walking) etc.

There is always the people who (god forbid!) veer of track and ride a ride SB when it wasn't in their plans 2 months ago . I suspect many changes are done out of necessity though because it's hard to plan flawlessly before you enter a park.

 

[mom2rtk]

We also used the app to check wait times.

That feature is more important than ever when one is limited to 3 FPs.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Teens and young adults perhaps.

But those of us who have demanding employers on the other end of the leash are more than happy to put down the phones for a few days. Trust me on that. For a lot of us, saying "I will not be carrying my phone during the day while I am out of the office, I will only check and reply to messages once a day" is the only way to get some peace. At least if it's in the hotel safe you can easily ignore it when it rings.

I also have a spouse who is so burdened with work responsibilities that he can't stay out of the email, unless I put the phone away. Disney giving him an excuse to carry it is not what we needed.

I can tell you that I am like your spouse, and I need a reason not to carry my android. But my employer pays me well enough that I will not complain.

That aside, I really can't imagine my wife going anywhere without her iPhone.

 

[wisblue]

Oh, if only it were that easy.

1. You have to remember the times, which means if you have ADRs also, is a lot of times; so your choices are to write them down on a paper for reference, or pull out your phone.

2. You booked a FP for a headliner, and for some odd reason (rare, but still possible) when you get there, the standby is 5-10 minutes. You decide to ride standby and rebook the FP for a second ride (or different ride) later. Guess what you need to do?

3. Disney has just closed the ride your FP was for because rain or because broken. They've given you an omni-pass to pick any other ride in the park to FP. Guess what you need to do?

4. Disney just seated you 1 hour late for your table service reservation, so by the time you are finished eating, you are going to miss your next FP window because you can't get there in time. Guess what you need to do?

Yes, all of the above and more happened to us on our trip a few weeks back.

Now, explain how all of these things would have been better under the paper FP system. Or, when there were no apps at all, MDE or otherwise?

You don't NEED to use your phone for any of these things. You just need to use it if you want to take advantage of some of the features of the new system that didn't exist with paper FP. Specifically, with your points 2 and 4 above, if you had a paper FP you would have just lost it with no opportunity to replace it with another one. Shame on Disney for forcing you to use your phone to get a replacement.

 

[wisblue]

That feature is more important than ever when one is limited to 3 FPs.

How so? Wouldn't having access to wait times and FP return times be more necessary and/or useful if you wanted to know what the wait times and FP return times were for other attractions so you would know where to go to get your next FP?

Come on guys. We understand why some people hate FP+. But, the idea that it somehow FORCES you to use your phone more than you would otherwise is a little hard for me to believe, unless you are using it to take advantage of OPPORTUNITIES presented by FP+ that weren't there with paper FP (like changing FP reservations).

You would have me believe that all of those people with their heads in their phones while we were walking the Freedom Trail in Boston last summer were checking WDW wait times.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

How so? Wouldn't having access to wait times and FP return times be more necessary and/or useful if you wanted to know what the wait times and FP return times were for other attractions so you would know where to go to get your next FP?

Come on guys. We understand why some people hate FP+. But, the idea that it somehow FORCES you to use your phone more than you would otherwise is a little hard for me to believe, unless you are using it to take advantage of OPPORTUNITIES presented by FP+ that weren't there with paper FP (like changing FP reservations).

You would have me believe that all of those people with their heads in their phones while we were walking the Freedom Trail in Boston last summer were checking WDW wait times.

LOL - hits imaginary "Likes" button.