FP+ Details Are Out!

[Shaden]

I think another SERIOUS issue, is about timing. If end of 2013, early 2014 really is the roll out date. People have ALREADY booked vacations for those dates, many more people will start booking as soon as 2014 North American booking opens.

Now yes, we all know about FP+ in this thread, but MANY people do not. People are going to book a vacation (or already have) and not be able to change it (many elements of a vacation are booked months in advance and can't be changed without financial penalty, sometimes not at all). Except they will do so without a clue about the changes to FP ...

For those of us that know about FP+ and its coming implementation, I don't think its a very good idea that Disney open up booking for dates that FP+ will be in effect without giving us the details.

We don't HAVE to book with Disney, that's true, but like I said, many people have already booked, and done so with good faith in Disney, and will have FP+ "dropped" on them, without notice or a clue.

Heck even for people who haven't booked yet, they might be return guests, or first time guests, and have been saving for years for this vacation, with an expectation of how it will work, and now, its all under a cloud of uncertainty. Imagine of you are one of the people who saves for 3, 4, 5 years to go, is it really fair to say to them "Hey, I know you have been saving for 3 years, dreaming of taking your two kids to Disney before they turned 10, and I know you have no idea how this system is going to work, but if you don't like it, just don't book." Talk about crushing a dream

 

[Senor_Jorge]

Eliminate the 60 day and 60 + 10 day bookings. Enable guests to book with their smartphones/laptops/kiosks but only day of after the park has opened. We'll say that if there are early morning EMH resort guests can pull FP at that time as a perk.

You don't want to do that. I could open a new business within an hour using brute force to obtain those bookings unless Disney puts substantial safeguards in place. I wouldn't actually do it, but somebody could/would.

Dealing with SEO bots targeting clients legit support forums, I've learned most of the tricks.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

And, now you are tuned into THIS PROBLEM as the starting point of so many of us here with our trepidation.

HOW will they be able to come up with enough FP+ to satisfy enough guests
when Disney's actual already stated announcements (not even sales hype, yet)
has focused on guests being able to pre-book their most-wanted ride experiences?

(It was actually quoted from a Disney bigwig that his kids favorite ride names ended in "Mountain" and that this new FP system was designed to make riding those attractions easier for all guests.)

I do get the concern - trust me!

Here's my expectation SO FAR... some based on facts of the system as they have been announced, some based only on my speculation given Disney's history...

- I'd expect to have to be online at my 60+10 days (or whatever it ends up being) to lock in my favorite headliners for the afternoon park I plan to be in/hop to (e.g. TSMM or Soarin' in the PM -- not a possibility now). I'd plan to do rides near-ish to my ADRs, as an example.

- I'd expect to continue hitting our favorite headliners by getting there at rope drop and using early EMH as we always do

- I'm POSITING that they will allow (magically?) some incarnation of same-day FP, which we may or may not use, and will not plan around

- I'm agnostic as to whether this will lengthen or shorten standby lines at this point... though we generally will wait in them if they are under 30min long and we don't expect another crack at said attraction during the remainder of our trip


Now... that said... I'd LOVE to know and/or am concerned about...
- How AP's will be handled,
- Whether in fact any version of current FP remains,
- Whether they change their current dictate re: 1 park/day
- Whether their IT stars will align and all of this will work PROPERLY

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

As to the idea of lots of same day FP+:

PP toosed the idea of holding a large percentage of FP+ for same day.

However, isn't one of the key profit/money savings aspects of FP+ is locking people in to a park 60 days in advance? If they are leaving FPs available for same day, then they aren't being booked 60 days out. If they aren't booking them 60 days out, they aren't locking people in 60 days in advance.

The more (high-demand) FP+ they allow for 60 day advance booking, the more people get locked in to a particular park for that day, and thus the more FP+ works as intended (from a $ perspective).

 

[doconeill]

Unless they are REALLY idiots, they HAVE to allow more same day passes like the way it is now - it would just be better electronically. Otherwise that makes no sense for park hopping and would basically make stand by lines be way worse than now since you can definitely use more than 3 a day currently. As long as you can get extra same day passes (they should just keep it the same like now, having a window until you get your next one) then I will love it and will like not having to run around everywhere collecting passes (since I'm the fp runner!).

Unless part of the point is to limit how many you can get period.

Imagine the different reaction...

"Sorry, but we are changing Fastpass so that you can only utilize it three times in a day..."

"New feature! You can now book up to three Fastpasses, in advance, before you even arrive. *



* Oh, and by the way, since you can book in advance now, you can only get three in a day."

I think they want to limit FP use, and added pre-booking as the carrot.

Unless there is another forthcoming test with additional features that they haven't even mentioned yet, I still think it is three and done.

I have yet to be able to formulate a hypothesis on why they limit it to one park though. I can't come up with a logical or technical reason.

 

[DVCBELLE]

Yea I could see a lot of this being better, generally a lot of the problems come from the inability to accurately plan 60 days out. What's the weather going to be like, what mood are the kids going to be in, how well are they going to tolerate certain rides on certain days. What happens if someone gets sick or a certain ride is closed on a given day, etc etc.

I don't mind the technology, the use of the magic bands etc. But I really believe that this just adds another element of long term, blind, planning, which will constrict people's ability to do what they want when they want, on their "vacation".

And you are right, the system will undoubtedly see updates, but I think that's WHY this is such a big deal for people here. Imagine if you are one of the people booked during the initial roll out, and there are serious issues with it.

The problem is that Disney is not going to give you back your money, or your vacation time, because the FP+ system lowered the quality or enjoyment of your vacation

Based on Disney's IT history...a meltdown of the system is my biggest fear.

Could you imagine having your parks and FP+ set - arriving - the system is down and no FP+ info available. Leaving everyone to ride standby....

And how many of us have had a lost ADR, ticket malfunction, etc. This on a widespread scale with everyone at GR trying to fix it. I hope they factor in the number of FPs they are going to have to hand out for Guest satisfaction

 

[mom2rtk]

As to the idea of lots of same day FP+:

PP toosed the idea of holding a large percentage of FP+ for same day.

However, isn't one of the key profit/money savings aspects of FP+ is locking people in to a park 60 days in advance? If they are leaving FPs available for same day, then they aren't being booked 60 days out. If they aren't booking them 60 days out, they aren't locking people in 60 days in advance.

The more (high-demand) FP+ they allow for 60 day advance booking, the more people get locked in to a particular park for that day, and thus the more FP+ works as intended (from a $ perspective).

Great point.

And what a quandary for the Disney decision makers if they get feedback from their customers to this effect. It could be there one core piece of this, their primary reason for developing the system..... could be the one thing their customers dislike most and ask for them to change.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Based on Disney's IT history...a meltdown of the system is my biggest fear.

Could you imagine having your parks and FP+ set - arriving - the system is down and no FP+ info available. Leaving everyone to ride standby....

And how many of us have had a lost ADR, ticket malfunction, etc. This on a widespread scale with everyone at GR trying to fix it. I hope they factor in the number of FPs they are going to have to hand out for Guest satisfaction

Don't get on the IT thing!! THIS is my biggest concern.

I'm the person who still prints up a flight itinerary even though my airline assures me that my nifty electronic boarding pass will work (hint: it didn't the first time I tried it!! ).

I'm optimistic about Disney making the right decisions about satisfying the most guests possible and improving most guests' experiences. But getting the technology to work within the first YEAR of putting it out there...

 

[mom2rtk]

Unless part of the point is to limit how many you can get period.

Imagine the different reaction...

"Sorry, but we are changing Fastpass so that you can only utilize it three times in a day..."

"New feature! You can now book up to three Fastpasses, in advance, before you even arrive. *



* Oh, and by the way, since you can book in advance now, you can only get three in a day."

I think they want to limit FP use, and added pre-booking as the carrot.

Unless there is another forthcoming test with additional features that they haven't even mentioned yet, I still think it is three and done.

I have yet to be able to formulate a hypothesis on why they limit it to one park though. I can't come up with a logical or technical reason.

If so, then how soon before they run a test asking for volunteers to give up same day fastpass for 3 prescheduled ones?

 

[doconeill]

If so, then how soon before they run a test asking for volunteers to give up same day fastpass for 3 prescheduled ones?

The next one?

Or, more likely, at rollout.

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

I can speculate about why they are setting it up as 3 per day in only one park now:

#1 The future possibility of paying to add more per day or additional parks per day

#2 The future possibility of promotions such as "Book Sept 2-30 for an additional 2 FPs per day"

#3 The future possibility of Deluxes getting more FPs than Mods or Values-thereby increasing the incentive to book higher category

Disney and web-based technology does not have a good track record. I can only imagine what it will be like when 30K+ people are surfing MDE trying to book/change FP's in the park and it crashes...the queues for the kiosks will be longer than the ride queues. No more quickly inserting a ticket-no you'll have to navigate several screens to "select" your preferred ride.

The timing of this is such that US and FLE final rollout will bring the guests no matter what-giving a time period for everyone to get "used" to these horrible changes.

I predict we will all be posting about the "good ole days" when you could actually get 5+ FPs in a day.

 

[mom2rtk]

I honestly think that in spite of having buckets of research on the topic, they just don't KNOW if they will have FP+ slots available after the first 3. Or that it will vary so much by time of year they won't comment on it.

 

[Suzanne74]

One of Disney's IT debacles was me logging onto "my experience" from home and seeing a whole different family and their itinerary. This was a few months ago while trying to get my 180+ reservations. Relighting in on different computers did not help. It took them 3 days to fix it. I had to redo a whole new my experience account on an old email to get the dining and then after everything was done, link it all together. Praying it will all work out. They claimed security was never breached - uh yay right.

So, what happens if the bands get all glitchy? what if FP+ goes down? I am much happier with a FP in my hand than on a mobile devise or a wristband that I hope is working right after I spent the time preplanning my vacation 60 days in advance.

 

[squirrel4569]

I just got off the phone with the guest relations folks at Disney who called me after I sent an email out voicing my concerns. I left my phone number in the email message and they called me the next day.

wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com is the email address.

I was polite in both the email and on the phone and got some good feedback. They did say that they just wrapped up a test and will be conducting another in July but didn't have the dates in front of him. He said they will be adjusting things based on feedback from guests who call/email in as well as those who participate in the tests. I volunteered to be part of a test if it falls during my visit in August. Not sure if that got noted anywhere or not, but it was mentioned and he asked if I had an MDE account setup and to look for emails at the address where my MDE account was setup at for invitations to test.

In regards to some of the concerns he did say that there will be same day FP available and that right now they don't predict FP will book up for an entire day since many will not pre-book. There will also be limits on AP holders that prevent them from simply booking everyday. Park Hopping is also being considered in the allocation process but for now it is limited to 3 per day in 1 park.

I'm pleased with the response that they are listening and are aware of concerns and most importantly that what we are hearing likely will not be the final product.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

Based on Disney's IT history...a meltdown of the system is my biggest fear.

Could you imagine having your parks and FP+ set - arriving - the system is down and no FP+ info available. Leaving everyone to ride standby....

And how many of us have had a lost ADR, ticket malfunction, etc. This on a widespread scale with everyone at GR trying to fix it. I hope they factor in the number of FPs they are going to have to hand out for Guest satisfaction

What is the history of Disney IT some keep referring to as awful?

I know the main web site isn't updated as fast as the various blogs but that's not IT's fault.

sometimes it is slow....but I've noticed no slower that various airline reservation systems and it's doing probably twice as much work per person for millions and millions of additional people....

Was there a meltdown at some point? because I think it is actually pretty good.

 

[momof2n2]

Dear Ms. B

Thank you for contacting us regarding the Walt Disney World Resort. We truly appreciate your taking the time to share your comments.

At this time we continue to test and enhance the features of MyMagic+, including Disney FastPass+ service and MagicBands. MyMagic+ enables Guests to have the vacation experience they want. Guests who enjoy planning their visits in detail will be able to do this like never before, and those who want spontaneity or to “go with the flow” can still do so.

What we have seen in our tests of the new FastPass+ service is that Guests who select FastPass+ experiences actually have even more time to explore and discover our parks because they spend less time in line and are more relaxed knowing they have already secured some of their “must-dos.”

We are very sorry to hear of your disappointments regarding the upcoming changes with FastPass+. We’re glad you like our current FastPass System. However, we are always striving to improve our services and offerings. In order to allow more Guests to partake in the new offerings, certain limitations have been put in place.

Please know, we are committed to providing our Guests with the best possible experience while visiting our Resort. You may be assured, your comments have been taken seriously and have been shared with the appropriate leadership.

Ms. B, thank you again for your honest and constructive feedback.

Sincerely,
Aaron Miller Guest Experience
Services Walt Disney World Resort




The above is the response I received today from WDW. Some paragraphs had different fonts; likely from cutting and pasting.

Whatever.

I'm glad I shared my concerns. .
[They don't like us super-users, do they?]

 

[rastuso]

Disney has stated in the terms and conditions, that AP holders and those with Magic Your Way Tickets, will get to pre-book 60 days in advance. They did not say, "only purchased from Disney", "only in a package", or anything like that.

So I don't think there are any questions about third party and AP holders, at least those with tickets in hand.

Vouchers I believe will handled just like APs as they also have ticket IDs, but that's a guess right now since the system isn't fully implemented yet.

But a generic MYW ticket, held by someone at their home, like me, isn't attached to any date. I can use it anytime from now to the day WDW is overan by zombies (I assume the zombies will really screw up the FP system).

So, will I be limited to only being able to make FP+ reservations for the number of days I have left? Someone staying in a resort is attached to a time. But, if they are only using ticket media, what's to stop them from saying they will be going to parks every day, making FP+ reservations, and then just cancelling some days of if they are tired, or it's raining, or they are going to IOA. If they attache an NE ticket to their stay, they can schedule up to that many days, eve4n if they only plan to use half of them.

I'm pretty sure those wou don't actually HAVE a ticket number are totally screwed, they won't be able to make reservations for FP+s. And I'm still not totally sold that those who do have tickets at home will get the same benefits as resort holders. They've already lost the +10, there are probably other surprises.

But is that really how they will do it? You must have prebought tickets, or a ressie, with length of stay tickets, or you can't make reservations?

Plus, I just realized that I don't have the same number of days left on all my tickets. So, let's say one ticket has 1 day, one has 3 days, and one has 4 days. The person with only 1 day left won't be able to schedule FP+, but the other two will for two more days. This both sucks and blows. Will tons of FP+ reservations never be used, because the people never enter the park? that could be the one saving grace, although it will simply lower standby times a bit, the FP+s will still be lost to the populace. And lowering standby times really does nothing, because whether or not someone enters SB line usually depends on the time, and they are usually going to plateau at a fairly consistent time, based on the time of year.

The more I think about this, FP+ can't be anything but an EPIC PR nightmarish failure we'll be talking about for decades. I'm sure there are plenty of people in my situation, with different ticket days left for different family members.

The only way they can fix this is to let anyone make a reservation, even without tickets, but that cant' work, because it will be massively filled with fake FP+ reservations.

The only way to deal with all teh special cases of irate guests is to keep A LOT of extra FP+s available to GR for day of fiascos, which I expect will be quite large in number for quite a long time.

I still can't imagine the clueless guest that drives from Kansas only to find out that in reality, yes the park is open, so there is no moose out front, but they aren't allowed to ride any of the BIG RIDES for their entire stay because they didn't schedule anything 2 months ago, before dad even knew when his vacation will land.



Jason

 

[doconeill]

Interesting...two different responses. One, a phone call that seems to say all the right things, and the other, an email of basically "sorry" and mentions limitations...hmm...

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I just got off the phone with the guest relations folks at Disney who called me after I sent an email out voicing my concerns. I left my phone number in the email message and they called me the next day.

wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com is the email address.

I was polite in both the email and on the phone and got some good feedback. They did say that they just wrapped up a test and will be conducting another in July but didn't have the dates in front of him. He said they will be adjusting things based on feedback from guests who call/email in as well as those who participate in the tests. I volunteered to be part of a test if it falls during my visit in August. Not sure if that got noted anywhere or not, but it was mentioned and he asked if I had an MDE account setup and to look for emails at the address where my MDE account was setup at for invitations to test.

In regards to some of the concerns he did say that there will be same day FP available and that right now they don't predict FP will book up for an entire day since many will not pre-book. There will also be limits on AP holders that prevent them from simply booking everyday. Park Hopping is also being considered in the allocation process but for now it is limited to 3 per day in 1 park.

I'm pleased with the response that they are listening and are aware of concerns and most importantly that what we are hearing likely will not be the final product.

So glad you did this -- and thanks for sharing!

What we have seen in our tests of the new FastPass+ service is that Guests who select FastPass+ experiences actually have even more time to explore and discover our parks because they spend less time in line and are more relaxed knowing they have already secured some of their “must-dos.”

The letter seemed like what I'd expect, but this part above seems meaningless to me until full roll-out.

 

[momof2n2]

Dear Ms. B

Thank you for contacting us regarding the Walt Disney World Resort. We truly appreciate your taking the time to share your comments.

At this time we continue to test and enhance the features of MyMagic+, including Disney FastPass+ service and MagicBands. MyMagic+ enables Guests to have the vacation experience they want. Guests who enjoy planning their visits in detail will be able to do this like never before, and those who want spontaneity or to “go with the flow” can still do so.

What we have seen in our tests of the new FastPass+ service is that Guests who select FastPass+ experiences actually have even more time to explore and discover our parks because they spend less time in line and are more relaxed knowing they have already secured some of their “must-dos.”

We are very sorry to hear of your disappointments regarding the upcoming changes with FastPass+. We’re glad you like our current FastPass System. However, we are always striving to improve our services and offerings. In order to allow more Guests to partake in the new offerings, certain limitations have been put in place.

Please know, we are committed to providing our Guests with the best possible experience while visiting our Resort. You may be assured, your comments have been taken seriously and have been shared with the appropriate leadership.

Ms. B, thank you again for your honest and constructive feedback.

Sincerely,
Aaron Miller Guest Experience
Services Walt Disney World Resort

The above is the response I received today from WDW. Some paragraphs had different fonts; likely from cutting and pasting.

Whatever.

I'm glad I shared my concerns. .
[They don't like us super-users, do they?]

I should add that I just reread my email to them and I wasn't as nice or friendly sounding as I thought I was at the time. . I was a bit worked up I think.

They were very nice in their response. You know, where they told me to get over losing the great touring option of the old days...