FP+ - Concerned - Please Share Honest Experiences

[brenda1966]

1. We walk more than we used to. WDW is always a lot of walking - but if you do rope drop and hit all the things you want, then you go back and re-circle the park doing the 3 Fast Passes later in the day, you just naturally end up re-covering a lot of ground. .

Interesting observation. I have worn a pedometer to disney parks several times and had my record breaking day last week when we walked 31,170 steps in one day! We started in MK and hopped to AK and back to MK. Yes, lots and lots of walking. My last record was set in 2011 in Disneyland at just over 30,000 steps.

If you figure 2000 steps to a mile, that's about 15 miles walking in a day. Phew!

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We were there for our March Break a few weeks ago - before we went I was a bit scared after reading everything negative that people were saying about FP+. We had a really great trip and didn't have any issues at all - we got there early and rode everything we wanted to a bunch of times, then had our FP booked for a bit later when it started to get busy. We didn't wait very long for anything.

We rescheduled rides when we needed to and copied FP over to other people in our party when they added more days - no problems with either.

 

[Sammie]

We loved it and had no problems and looking forward to using it again soon.

 

[TimothyG]

My husband has heard FP+ "rumors" at work and he refuses to go to WDW again if I cannot convince him it is not so bad!. I need the lowdown so that I know what we are getting into. We are giving Universal a try in a few months. But we want to go to Disney for a week too if we get the facts straight. Disney is where our heart has always been.

This is the rumor my husband heard. FP+ is like an ADR for a ride. This can be good or bad. If it is bad weather on the day you schedule your ride, you are out of luck rescheduling. Same if you have transportation issues and your are late. Especially during a peak time of the year. You get 3 FP+'s. Most standby lines are much longer than have been in the past. People are basically just doing three rides, eating a meal and going back to the resort.

Our children will do single rider when available. Will this give us more flexibility.

Please share honest opinions from one Disney Lover to another. We have Premier AP's that expire at the end of June. We bought for the first (and probably only time last year when we went to Disneyland). I just want to get the facts straight and I trust the Dis Members.

Thanks for your feedback.

Avery

I was worried about FP+ as well until I tried it. I was one of those people that could pull 10 FPs per day so 3 sounded a little too few. I found that FP+ was best utilized in the late afternoon or early evening, unless the ride is a water ride in which case the middle of the day. Keep the My Disney Experience app handy to switch FP experiences or times when necessary. I would switch mine out if I found the line was manageable (20 mins or less).

Keep in mind also that comparing wait times isn't really doable. Disney doesn't ever give you actual wait times and attendance factors in big time. They tend overestimate how long a line will be when they post it. In my experience, a lot of the time the actual wait was way shorter than the posted time (I waited 10 mins for a line that had a posted time of 40 in one instance). Sure, if you go during Spring Break, lines will be really long. But it's always been that way.

I don't get the argument that a lot of people are making about lack of flexibility. With the old FP, you pretty much had no flexibility. You took the time the machine told you. In the middle of dinner, your afternoon swim/nap or 5 hours from now when you have plans to be in a different park? Too bad. With the new system, you can be pretty specific about when you want to ride and reschedule when necessary.

However, keep in mind that they run out of FP slots in the evening, but the availability is still longer than the old system.

Just be smart about your usage where possible. If you return and the standby line is manageable, don't use it and switch out the experience.

 

[davedmaine]

My husband has heard FP+ "rumors" at work and he refuses to go to WDW again if I cannot convince him it is not so bad!. I need the lowdown so that I know what we are getting into. We are giving Universal a try in a few months. But we want to go to Disney for a week too if we get the facts straight. Disney is where our heart has always been. This is the rumor my husband heard. FP+ is like an ADR for a ride. This can be good or bad. If it is bad weather on the day you schedule your ride, you are out of luck rescheduling. Same if you have transportation issues and your are late. Especially during a peak time of the year. You get 3 FP+'s. Most standby lines are much longer than have been in the past. People are basically just doing three rides, eating a meal and going back to the resort. Our children will do single rider when available. Will this give us more flexibility. Please share honest opinions from one Disney Lover to another. We have Premier AP's that expire at the end of June. We bought for the first (and probably only time last year when we went to Disneyland). I just want to get the facts straight and I trust the Dis Members. Thanks for your feedback. Avery

We're also pap holders and we've gone twice under the new system. We HATE it. Lines are crazily long everywhere. Rides that never had lines in the past suddenly have lines. Also, I think pre-planning rides is stupid. Leave it to Disney to suck all spontaneity out of a vacation all to chase a few more dollars.

 

[supercarrie]

We used FP+ for the first time at the end of March, and I agree with the majority of posters. We found the system much better than the old version of FP, no need to go to the attraction itself to pull a FP, not knowing what the return time would be once you made it there. We found it saved a lot of time and I liked having the times pre-booked. The additions of allowing additional FP+ and park hopping should just improve things.

One thing which I did not see mentioned is how good FP+ is if a ride breaks down during your return time. We experienced this with Maelstrom. We received an email alerting us that the ride was currently down, and that we could either use the FP+ for another attraction of our choosing (from a list) at any point that day, or that if the ride came back up, we could use the FP+ at Maelstrom at any point during the day as well. The old style FP would allow you to use it throughout the rest of the day, but the e-mail notification and the flexibility to use it somewhere else is a definite improvement.

 

[sunshine1]

After reading all the negative feedback in here I was worried about the new fast pass system.

I arrived here last week and I don't know what the fuss is all about and I am staying off site.

I found it to be good. What I liked is that I didn't have to run from each attraction to collect the fast passes and could change the times and even the attraction if I wanted to.

Don't sweat it and have fun.

Mickey is waiting for you

 

[mickeysgirl17]

Speaking of ADRs, remember that if you miss an ADR now for any restaurant it's a $10-per-person no-show fee on your CC. (another change that happened since your last trip according to your signature)

When did this happen? Is this for ALL restaurants?

We're also pap holders and we've gone twice under the new system. We HATE it. Lines are crazily long everywhere. Rides that never had lines in the past suddenly have lines. Also, I think pre-planning rides is stupid. Leave it to Disney to suck all spontaneity out of a vacation all to chase a few more dollars.

I also strongly dislike the new system. I agree that there were many times rides had no waits at all, but now many people are complaining that those rides have very long waits and you are definitely right...there is no spontaneity in anything related to WDW anymore. Booking attractions in advance is outrageous.

 

[kathie859]

I've used the new FP+ for 2 trips. One was a multigenerational group of 7 (ages 6-72) and the other just my sister and I. We found the ability to schedule our ultimate "must do's" ahead of time relaxing--not the fun sucking, spontaneous removing experience some posters felt. We even park hopped effectively and didn't notice any increase in standby lines. MDE on my IPhone kept us informed if an attraction for which we had a FP was down and what our options were.

My only issues are 1) the current inability to schedule more FP's when your 3 are used 2) the inability to schedule FP in more than one park in a day and 3) the odd tiering of attractions.

 

[Angel Ariel]

When did this happen? Is this for ALL restaurants?

This was in effect in October 2013 for our trip...yes, AFAIK, it is for all restaurants.

Re: the OP - I think it's a bit misleading to say everything the OP's husband heard is untrue. There are plenty of people here who have reported limited to no availability to change their FP+s around once they were in the parks (during busy time periods).

Also, all guests have only had the ability to prebook for a little over a week. It will likely take a little while before it can be accurately determined what effect that change has on same day availability. It is likely, though, that the ability to change FP+ around on the day of that someone had back in January 2014 is will be different than what someone would have now, since 100% of the park guests can now prebook (compared to only appx 50% in January).

The OP did not state when they were looking at going to WDW...if it's at the same time as Universal "in a few months" that could be mid-summer. Considering we have absolutely no data as to what same-day availability will be with FP+ in the summer (as this will be it's first summer in full operation), I think it would be wise to err on the side of caution and assume that it will be difficult to change around FP+s during busy summer days.

Personally, I'd rather be prepared for that scenario (little to no availability to change around headliners) and be happy to find that availability is very good and I can easily change FP+s around on the same day, than go in thinking that availability will not be a problem at all and be unhappily surprised to find there's not as much (or any) as I thought there would be.

 

[bobbie68]

This was in effect in October 2013 for our trip...yes, AFAIK, it is for all restaurants.

Re: the OP - I think it's a bit misleading to say everything the OP's husband heard is untrue. There are plenty of people here who have reported limited to no availability to change their FP+s around once they were in the parks (during busy time periods).

Also, all guests have only had the ability to prebook for a little over a week. It will likely take a little while before it can be accurately determined what effect that change has on same day availability. It is likely, though, that the ability to change FP+ around on the day of that someone had back in January 2014 is will be different than what someone would have now, since 100% of the park guests can now prebook (compared to only appx 50% in January).

The OP did not state when they were looking at going to WDW...if it's at the same time as Universal "in a few months" that could be mid-summer. Considering we have absolutely no data as to what same-day availability will be with FP+ in the summer (as this will be it's first summer in full operation), I think it would be wise to err on the side of caution and assume that it will be difficult to change around FP+s during busy summer days.

Personally, I'd rather be prepared for that scenario (little to no availability to change around headliners) and be happy to find that availability is very good and I can easily change FP+s around on the same day, than go in thinking that availability will not be a problem at all and be unhappily surprised to find there's not as much (or any) as I thought there would be.

 

[maxiesmom]

He is correct that it is similar to an ADR, but not much else is true. You can typically reschedule any FP. Some of the headliners may be tough, but most things can be rescheduled. If you get to your FP ride and the standby is short, just ride standby and change your FP. If you get stuck somewhere or don't feel like crossing the park to get to your scheduled FP ride, just change it. This can even be done if your time window has expired. Selecting your own times is a HUGE improvement from the old system. We love FP+. It could use some tweaking, but overall, we much prefer it to the old system. If you park hop, do rope drop at your first park and schedule your FPs for your second park. That is the best way to utilize FP+ when hopping. Singer rider lines will be a great option, as well.

I agree with you. I've used FP+ on 2 trips now, and have no complaints about it.

 

[avery619]

This was in effect in October 2013 for our trip...yes, AFAIK, it is for all restaurants.

Re: the OP - I think it's a bit misleading to say everything the OP's husband heard is untrue. There are plenty of people here who have reported limited to no availability to change their FP+s around once they were in the parks (during busy time periods).

Also, all guests have only had the ability to prebook for a little over a week. It will likely take a little while before it can be accurately determined what effect that change has on same day availability. It is likely, though, that the ability to change FP+ around on the day of that someone had back in January 2014 is will be different than what someone would have now, since 100% of the park guests can now prebook (compared to only appx 50% in January).

The OP did not state when they were looking at going to WDW...if it's at the same time as Universal "in a few months" that could be mid-summer. Considering we have absolutely no data as to what same-day availability will be with FP+ in the summer (as this will be it's first summer in full operation), I think it would be wise to err on the side of caution and assume that it will be difficult to change around FP+s during busy summer days.

Personally, I'd rather be prepared for that scenario (little to no availability to change around headliners) and be happy to find that availability is very good and I can easily change FP+s around on the same day, than go in thinking that availability will not be a problem at all and be unhappily surprised to find there's not as much (or any) as I thought there would be.

We would be trying to go before the end of June before our AP's expire and after kids get out of school--around the same time Universal. I assume there will be crowds at that time. I think with all of the feedback and suggestions everyone has provided, we will adapt pretty well should there be some chaos--I hope...

 

[MouseMomx2]

This is the rumor my husband heard. FP+ is like an ADR for a ride. This can be good or bad. If it is bad weather on the day you schedule your ride, you are out of luck rescheduling. Same if you have transportation issues and your are late. Especially during a peak time of the year. You get 3 FP+'s. Most standby lines are much longer than have been in the past. People are basically just doing three rides, eating a meal and going back to the resort.

This is our experience with the new system...

We were there in November, over New Year's Week and DD went for Spring Break. November was very quiet and the other two trips were during some of the busiest times at WDW. We didn't see much difference in using the FP+ system across those visits. On all trips we were able to reschedule our FP+s on the same day with little trouble. Now, we didn't try to reschedule Toy Story Midway Mania...which would have been difficult...but we did reschedule Soarin', some of the MK mountains and Kilimanjaro Safari.

Most (not all, but most) of the naysayers have, admittedly, not used the new system yet. We see great advantages to it and have embraced it completely. No more running around to gather FPs...no more waiting around for a FP time to arrive because we were stuck with the window that was available when we pulled the FP...no more criss-crossing the park to get back to attractions...etc. We now make a general plan for our day, choose 3 FP+s that fit with that schedule and go with the flow the rest of the day.

I say learn everything you can about the new system, go and have the great time you always have had at WDW.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I am at MCO right now. Sniff, sniff.

Anyway, we really liked our Magic Bands and FP+. I am a hyper planner and what some consider an "overutilizer" of the old FP system. This was our 7th spring break trip, so we are veterans of a busier time of year. We had to adjust a little with the new system (only road Soarin' and Splash once, for example) - but the same basic touring plans worked for us as in the past - rope drop, prioritize rides in order of how quickly lines build, etc. I actually changed our Faspasses about two days out without problems for MK.

It was sort of nice not to have to criss cross the parks for FP. Some rides that never had waits had short ones this trip (5 minutes for Figment, 20 minutes Maelstrom), but it seemed like standby lines for other attractions were actually a bit lower. We had virtually no wait in any FP lines - this was a real plus for us as we are used to at least a 10-20 min waits for Soarin & Splash with FP.
I think a 4th FP option would have been nice at MK - but we did fine with our 3.

Anyway, I am a fan.

 

[MickeyOCD]

It really depends on when you go on what SB lines will look loke. If you go peak, then SB lines will be long in the afternoon & early/mid evening. Getting your FPs for this time is key. But know that changing later time FPs can be difficult for headliners or even B rides the later in the day you are especially during peak times. We used a FP for Star Tours (cause we booked it for 5pm) when we didn't need it (SB walked on with us & got in the merge line behind us) but I couldn't change it to anything else because nothing else was available. We rode it again SB, walked right on again. This was last week in March so crowd level of 9. Now there is not much to FP at DHS, 'cause of tiers. We do 2 days at DHS with a break. We FP'd Star Tours cause the line can get to 40 min during Spring Break. The tiered Parks are hard because there is not much to FP when you can't FP Soarin & Test Track or TSMM & RnR. Really only need FPs for those rides in those parks. So if you could split FPs for different parks (to enable hopping with FP) then that would be good. Or if they would just give me FP credits (like Dining Plan credits) to use however I see fit (4 one day, 2 the next) THAT would create flexibility & make me not feel like I would "waste" a FP like I felt I did for Star Tours.

 

[mom2rtk]

My husband has heard FP+ "rumors" at work and he refuses to go to WDW again if I cannot convince him it is not so bad!.

Does your husband work at the DIS? I thought it was only a handful of people here who felt that way about FP+.

 

[luvthemouse71]

We went in December.

We were able to change on the fly as far as FP+ and did so multiple times. We were limited to 3 but standby lines were not bad ( usually 20 min. and under). We did not just ride our 3 rides and go back to the resort.

It was nice being able to sleep in and know that we had our most wanted FPs already. We aren't rope droppers we spend more time in the parks at night.

It may be more likely that the OPs hubby is burnt out on WDW, doesn't want to go, but doesn't want to make the OP upset. I don't know where he works, but we don't trade DW "rumors" at my workplace. Just sounded like something someone would say to spare the spouse's feelings.

 

[avery619]

We went in December.

We were able to change on the fly as far as FP+ and did so multiple times. We were limited to 3 but standby lines were not bad ( usually 20 min. and under). We did not just ride our 3 rides and go back to the resort.

It was nice being able to sleep in and know that we had our most wanted FPs already. We aren't rope droppers we spend more time in the parks at night.

It may be more likely that the OPs hubby is burnt out on WDW, doesn't want to go, but doesn't want to make the OP upset. I don't know where he works, but we don't trade DW "rumors" at my workplace. Just sounded like something someone would say to spare the spouse's feelings. [/QUOTE]

You are right that he is probably burnt out. He has been burned out since our first trip way back when. He did hear the complaint or rumor from the secretary at his office who goes every year. I wasn't gonna let him get off that easy.