FP+ Details Are Out!

[rastuso]

Don't forget they don't just need slots for these rides. They need afternoon and evening slots. Because isn't that what everyone assumes they are getting?

EXCELLENT!

I see dining as more of a secondary experience at Disney. Attractions are the core reason people go. And why the are willing to pay what it takes for admission.

That is what makes this different from ADRs. And cinnamon rolls. And room snafus.

People feel more strongly about this because it has the potential to affect their core reason for going to Disney more than any other change Disney has made in recent time.

Yes, I don't pay hundreds of dollars for the option to then schedule a meal 6 months in advance. I do it to ride rides, and more than 3.

Jason

 

[momof2n2]

Yes, I don't pay hundreds of dollars for the option to then schedule a meal 6 months in advance. I do it to ride rides, and more than 3.

Jason

Amen, brother.

On another note: I just noticed a multipark, 14-day ticket to BG and SW is only $129!

 

[jdcthree]

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.”

Like never before is right! If Disney actually believes this, they have no clue what a great number of their guests want. There is so much wrong with the above statement it's laughable. If enough people write or call to let them know, they will have to take notice.

 

[doconeill]

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.

If I was implementing it, you would be restricted to pre-booking the number of days you have left on your ticket. Period. If you fail to show up without canceling them in advance, you lose that day's ability to pre-book. Done.

As far as canceling goes...not much different than someone IN the park choosing to change their bookings...it releases them back into the system.

And then it goes back to my "abuse tracking" for AP holders...can apply just as easily to MYW ticket holders.

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.

Well, it IS pretty obvious - no ticket, no pre-booking. This will drive advanced ticket sales, and I'm sure Disney will make it REALLY convenient to get them direct from them at full price...and if you order direct, they could potentially attach it directly to your profile...even more convenient.

The +10 is not confirmed yet. If it turns out to be true, I'm fairly confident that will be the only "surprise", at least until the system has been exercised enough that they can consider adjustments.

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?

Well, I'll refer back to Nick Franklin, saying specifically it is a function of your park ticket.

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.

I'd say you are extreme outlier case. I'm not sure why you say that the person with one day left can't schedule FP+ though. They have a day. What I think would be more of a problem is trying to schedule as a group. But that's a problem for them to solve.

Will tons of FP+ reservations never be used, because the people never enter the park?

Seriously doubt it.

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

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

These are good points. Perhaps they will limit the number of days you can pre-book to the number of park days on the ticket that is registered in your MDE account?

I still don't see how the "day of" FPs would work. Would you not have any conflict issues with the 3 prebooked? In other words, say you book Splash, Space, and BTM and day of you show up and book PP, would it not care about the timeslots of the 3 prebooked? And say, you booked the 3 above then get to Splash and it's down, what then? Does it open up another FP slot? Say you get to BTM and the standby is 10 minutes...what then? You use your 60+10 day prebooked FP for THAT?

I think Disney CM responses to complaints are typical unreliable CM "say what the guest wants to hear" responses. It doesn't add up.

 

[WillAustin]

I still don't see how the "day of" FPs would work. Would you not have any conflict issues with the 3 prebooked? In other words, say you book Splash, Space, and BTM and day of you show up and book PP, would it not care about the timeslots of the 3 prebooked?

When you try to make the day of reservation, it will already know your previous reserved times. I'd expect it to work like an ADR and not let you have 2 at the same time.

Say you get to BTM and the standby is 10 minutes...what then? You use your 60+10 day prebooked FP for THAT?

Yes. Pretty sure that could happen a lot depending on the time of year.

 

[DisneyDoc5]

Here I am, as always, remaining cautiously optimistic about all this, staying positive............................wait........ time out for a sec.....

I know it's just a theme park and these are just rides, but this is making me mad, sick, and frankly nuts! I know it's dollar signs, but really, why Disney, why are you changing the way your CORE group of returning customers enjoy using the parks - stupid! WAKE UP!!! We want to do attractions more than once in a day, and we are not going to wait in lines! With the current fast pass system, we never wait more than 30 minutes for anything, because we know how to utilize it. I am not spending $1000's of dollars to wait!!! Anyone who thinks this isn't going to happen, then I hope you are right, but I don't think so. This makes me sad...............


..................................ok, deep breath, game on..........remaining cautiously optimistic again

 

[DaisyDew]

Like never before is right! If Disney actually believes this, they have no clue what a great number of their guests want. There is so much wrong with the above statement it's laughable. If enough people write or call to let them know, they will have to take notice.

"Explore and discover" is Disney speak for "spend more $$$$".

 

[Cafeen]

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.

From an IT side (Networking)

1) WiFi accessibility issues (in park), load issues, and overall poor performance from the network. Yes, this IS an IT issue as the network must be designed to handle the intended traffic and cover the areas that it's intended to cover. Since it doesn't, they failed at meeting their need.

2) Internal systems have had major network connectivity issues in the past, from the system "just not working" to data not being properly stored/transferred. This is a combination of Programming and IT issues, depending on the true cause (code/hardware)

3) Web Server infrastructure is very often throwing HTTP errors (500s are common, indicating server connectivity). This is a fail on IT's side like the WiFi, they did not design a powerful enough network to handle their needs. They need better load balancing and server routing/caching hardware/software. Web server performance also falls under this. The web sites for WDW (and other Disney companies) are notoriously slow. They absolutely know they're a very high traffic/demand application, as such, the system must be designed to handle it.

Not IT, but falling under the general umbrella that many call "IT"
4) Web Application functionality is always iffy. Many display bugs (see recent ADR count and ADR time bugs for examples) that simply should never be released. This is either Development or QA fail

4b) Mobile Application functionality is also iffy. Many of the same bugs with the web development side.

5) The MDX site cannot be accessed from Canada. It's supposed to be. This is a huge development/IT fail. The fact that they've let it go on this long is a Product Management fail.

6) There's a loading screen between each page. In 2013. This signifies that the back-end code is too slow for proper loading. This should not happen this day in age (or is it "day and age"...whichever is correct, use that one ). Development (if code-based), PM (if by design), or IT (if hardware-based) fail.

7) Constant failure at loading tables for restaurants before ADRs open up. Depending on where the delay is, this may be a Restaurant Management fail or a Data Entry/IT fail.

8) Software PM (Project/Product Management) and Software Design tending to add extra unnecessary bells and whistles (loading screens, fancy buttons, etc) while removing useful features (ADR date range, streamlined ADR process, etc)

Note that: "Sometimes it's slow" can very likely (depending on where the slowness comes from) be a failure on the part of IT. As described above, it is their job to design and maintain a network that is able to keep up with the server loads the web application demands. If it's an issue in routing to their datacenter(s), that's nothing they can help, but routing and server load issues within their datacenter(s) absolutely is their job.

There's more...but this should be a start.

Note that many people use the term IT loosely to cover all Web/App/Internal Software Development and Hardware needs. I tend to be a little more specific in assigning my blame, but the entire software engineering team as a whole has a ton of issues that present themselves every day.

 

[DaisyDew]

Someone mentioned above about IT bugs/issues...I was just checking a couple things for our upcoming trip and wanted to know when Wishes was a certain night during our trip. I had to click through 14 screens to get that information, all because the site kept defaulting to the wrong date.

 

[mom2rtk]

From an IT side (Networking)

1) WiFi accessibility issues (in park), load issues, and overall poor performance from the network. Yes, this IS an IT issue as the network must be designed to handle the intended traffic and cover the areas that it's intended to cover. Since it doesn't, they failed at meeting their need.

2) Internal systems have had major network connectivity issues in the past, from the system "just not working" to data not being properly stored/transferred. This is a combination of Programming and IT issues, depending on the true cause (code/hardware)

3) Web Server infrastructure is very often throwing HTTP errors (500s are common, indicating server connectivity). This is a fail on IT's side like the WiFi, they did not design a powerful enough network to handle their needs. They need better load balancing and server routing/caching hardware/software. Web server performance also falls under this. The web sites for WDW (and other Disney companies) are notoriously slow. They absolutely know they're a very high traffic/demand application, as such, the system must be designed to handle it.

Not IT, but falling under the general umbrella that many call "IT"
4) Web Application functionality is always iffy. Many display bugs (see recent ADR count and ADR time bugs for examples) that simply should never be released. This is either Development or QA fail

4b) Mobile Application functionality is also iffy. Many of the same bugs with the web development side.

5) The MDX site cannot be accessed from Canada. It's supposed to be. This is a huge development/IT fail. The fact that they've let it go on this long is a Product Management fail.

6) There's a loading screen between each page. In 2013. This signifies that the back-end code is too slow for proper loading. This should not happen this day in age (or is it "day and age"...whichever is correct, use that one ). Development (if code-based), PM (if by design), or IT (if hardware-based) fail.

7) Constant failure at loading tables for restaurants before ADRs open up. Depending on where the delay is, this may be a Restaurant Management fail or a Data Entry/IT fail.

8) Software PM (Project/Product Management) and Software Design tending to add extra unnecessary bells and whistles (loading screens, fancy buttons, etc) while removing useful features (ADR date range, streamlined ADR process, etc)

Note that: "Sometimes it's slow" can very likely (depending on where the slowness comes from) be a failure on the part of IT. As described above, it is their job to design and maintain a network that is able to keep up with the server loads the web application demands. If it's an issue in routing to their datacenter(s), that's nothing they can help, but routing and server load issues within their datacenter(s) absolutely is their job.

There's more...but this should be a start.

Note that many people use the term IT loosely to cover all Web/App/Internal Software Development and Hardware needs. I tend to be a little more specific in assigning my blame, but the entire software engineering team as a whole has a ton of issues that present themselves every day.

Maybe they're thinking it will get better when they bring on MM+ and add a "few" more users?

 

[jtowntoflorida]

From an IT side (Networking)

1) WiFi accessibility issues (in park), load issues, and overall poor performance from the network. Yes, this IS an IT issue as the network must be designed to handle the intended traffic and cover the areas that it's intended to cover. Since it doesn't, they failed at meeting their need.

2) Internal systems have had major network connectivity issues in the past, from the system "just not working" to data not being properly stored/transferred. This is a combination of Programming and IT issues, depending on the true cause (code/hardware)

3) Web Server infrastructure is very often throwing HTTP errors (500s are common, indicating server connectivity). This is a fail on IT's side like the WiFi, they did not design a powerful enough network to handle their needs. They need better load balancing and server routing/caching hardware/software. Web server performance also falls under this. The web sites for WDW (and other Disney companies) are notoriously slow. They absolutely know they're a very high traffic/demand application, as such, the system must be designed to handle it.

Not IT, but falling under the general umbrella that many call "IT"
4) Web Application functionality is always iffy. Many display bugs (see recent ADR count and ADR time bugs for examples) that simply should never be released. This is either Development or QA fail

4b) Mobile Application functionality is also iffy. Many of the same bugs with the web development side.

5) The MDX site cannot be accessed from Canada. It's supposed to be. This is a huge development/IT fail. The fact that they've let it go on this long is a Product Management fail.

6) There's a loading screen between each page. In 2013. This signifies that the back-end code is too slow for proper loading. This should not happen this day in age (or is it "day and age"...whichever is correct, use that one ). Development (if code-based), PM (if by design), or IT (if hardware-based) fail.

7) Constant failure at loading tables for restaurants before ADRs open up. Depending on where the delay is, this may be a Restaurant Management fail or a Data Entry/IT fail.

8) Software PM (Project/Product Management) and Software Design tending to add extra unnecessary bells and whistles (loading screens, fancy buttons, etc) while removing useful features (ADR date range, streamlined ADR process, etc)

Note that: "Sometimes it's slow" can very likely (depending on where the slowness comes from) be a failure on the part of IT. As described above, it is their job to design and maintain a network that is able to keep up with the server loads the web application demands. If it's an issue in routing to their datacenter(s), that's nothing they can help, but routing and server load issues within their datacenter(s) absolutely is their job.

There's more...but this should be a start.

Note that many people use the term IT loosely to cover all Web/App/Internal Software Development and Hardware needs. I tend to be a little more specific in assigning my blame, but the entire software engineering team as a whole has a ton of issues that present themselves every day.

Translated into English for those of us who aren't IT people:
Disney's computers are broken for various reasons.




But seriously, thanks for your post. I think the idea behind FP+ isn't all that bad (other than the 60 day window), but I have serious doubts that it can actually be implemented and executed, especially with how awful the MDE website and app are.

 

[White Rose]

So there really is no "made up" info, since you can't point to any specific examples.

Most of us realize you're just trying to stir the pot.

People are posting that they are afraid that they won't be able to get FPs next year and giving specific examples - how can you give specific examples of something that has not occured? (various posts saying they won't be able to get a fast pass for TSM - but how can they say they can not get a FP+ for it when the system is not even rolled out...and you are not in the park?)

This is the doom and gloom I am talking about - people getting all excited and riled up and posting conjecture as fact. We know only what Disney had put out and it has been changing all the time - this should be an indication that no one knows anything.

I've seen posts where people are writing, as fact, that same day FP+ won't be possible for specific rides. You do NOT know that.. it might be or might not be the case. But by posting it as FACT in your post, it makes other people believe it. Specially if you are seen as a senior member of a board with lots of posts under your belt

People trust people who seem to know what they are doing/saying. If you post stories about how you won't be able to get BOG ADRs on the same day you can ride PP...people will think you have some sort of insider info - please avoid this type of post because it only causes panic.

Here's my final word...do you think us Disney Planning crazies outnumber regular guests who still won't book FP+? come on - how many of us have seen countless people ignoring the Fast pass stuff or thinking it is extra $$ when it is right in front of their faces.

What makes you think they will go on a computer 60 days before and book their ride times?

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

So there really is no "made up" info, since you can't point to any specific examples.

Most of us realize you're just trying to stir the pot.

People are posting that they are afraid that they won't be able to get FPs next year and giving specific examples - how can you give specific examples of something that has not occured? (various posts saying they won't be able to get a fast pass for TSM - but how can they say they can not get a FP+ for it when the system is not even rolled out...and you are not in the park?)

This is the doom and gloom I am talking about - people getting all excited and riled up and posting conjecture as fact. We know only what Disney had put out and it has been changing all the time - this should be an indication that no one knows anything.

I've seen posts where people are writing, as fact, that same day FP+ won't be possible for specific rides. You do NOT know that.. it might be or might not be the case. But by posting it as FACT in your post, it makes other people believe it. Specially if you are seen as a senior member of a board with lots of posts under your belt

People trust people who seem to know what they are doing/saying. If you post stories about how you won't be able to get BOG ADRs on the same day you can ride PP...people will think you have some sort of insider info - please avoid this type of post because it only causes panic.

Here's my final word...do you think us Disney Planning crazies outnumber regular guests who still won't book FP+? come on - how many of us have seen countless people ignoring the Fast pass stuff or thinking it is extra $$ when it is right in front of their faces.

What makes you think they will go on a computer 60 days before and book their ride times?

 

[ExBellhop]

you won't be able to get BOG ADRs on the same day you can ride PP

WHAT???!!!??!?!?!1111!?

I already have a BOG ADR, but my kids LOVE PP! This is the kind of stuff that keeps happening ever since Darth Vader was made a VP and George Lucas sold Disney to Spielberg.

I'm going to Universal.

ExBellhop

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

From an IT side (Networking)

1) WiFi accessibility issues (in park), load issues, and overall poor performance from the network. Yes, this IS an IT issue as the network must be designed to handle the intended traffic and cover the areas that it's intended to cover. Since it doesn't, they failed at meeting their need.

2) Internal systems have had major network connectivity issues in the past, from the system "just not working" to data not being properly stored/transferred. This is a combination of Programming and IT issues, depending on the true cause (code/hardware)

3) Web Server infrastructure is very often throwing HTTP errors (500s are common, indicating server connectivity). This is a fail on IT's side like the WiFi, they did not design a powerful enough network to handle their needs. They need better load balancing and server routing/caching hardware/software. Web server performance also falls under this. The web sites for WDW (and other Disney companies) are notoriously slow. They absolutely know they're a very high traffic/demand application, as such, the system must be designed to handle it.

Not IT, but falling under the general umbrella that many call "IT"
4) Web Application functionality is always iffy. Many display bugs (see recent ADR count and ADR time bugs for examples) that simply should never be released. This is either Development or QA fail

4b) Mobile Application functionality is also iffy. Many of the same bugs with the web development side.

5) The MDX site cannot be accessed from Canada. It's supposed to be. This is a huge development/IT fail. The fact that they've let it go on this long is a Product Management fail.

6) There's a loading screen between each page. In 2013. This signifies that the back-end code is too slow for proper loading. This should not happen this day in age (or is it "day and age"...whichever is correct, use that one ). Development (if code-based), PM (if by design), or IT (if hardware-based) fail.

7) Constant failure at loading tables for restaurants before ADRs open up. Depending on where the delay is, this may be a Restaurant Management fail or a Data Entry/IT fail.

8) Software PM (Project/Product Management) and Software Design tending to add extra unnecessary bells and whistles (loading screens, fancy buttons, etc) while removing useful features (ADR date range, streamlined ADR process, etc)

Note that: "Sometimes it's slow" can very likely (depending on where the slowness comes from) be a failure on the part of IT. As described above, it is their job to design and maintain a network that is able to keep up with the server loads the web application demands. If it's an issue in routing to their datacenter(s), that's nothing they can help, but routing and server load issues within their datacenter(s) absolutely is their job.

There's more...but this should be a start.

Note that many people use the term IT loosely to cover all Web/App/Internal Software Development and Hardware needs. I tend to be a little more specific in assigning my blame, but the entire software engineering team as a whole has a ton of issues that present themselves every day.

I'm not an IT guy...

How much of this stuff is based on the limitations of existing technology infrastructure...if that makes any sense.

What I mean is....is it possible in 2013 to offer effective WiFi to 50,000 people at the same time?

Is it possible to offer bug free web site reservation systems to however many millions of people use Disney's every day?

Examples of success in those regards? every reservation system I use online - airlines, hotels, car rentals - is slow and somewhat annoying.

Wifi gets bogged down in my own house with just 7 users.

 

[buckeev]

From an IT side (Networking)

1) WiFi accessibility issues (in park), load issues, and overall poor performance from the network. Yes, this IS an IT issue as the network must be designed to handle the intended traffic and cover the areas that it's intended to cover. Since it doesn't, they failed at meeting their need.

2) Internal systems have had major network connectivity issues in the past, from the system "just not working" to data not being properly stored/transferred. This is a combination of Programming and IT issues, depending on the true cause (code/hardware)

3) Web Server infrastructure is very often throwing HTTP errors (500s are common, indicating server connectivity). This is a fail on IT's side like the WiFi, they did not design a powerful enough network to handle their needs. They need better load balancing and server routing/caching hardware/software. Web server performance also falls under this. The web sites for WDW (and other Disney companies) are notoriously slow. They absolutely know they're a very high traffic/demand application, as such, the system must be designed to handle it.

Not IT, but falling under the general umbrella that many call "IT"
4) Web Application functionality is always iffy. Many display bugs (see recent ADR count and ADR time bugs for examples) that simply should never be released. This is either Development or QA fail

4b) Mobile Application functionality is also iffy. Many of the same bugs with the web development side.

5) The MDX site cannot be accessed from Canada. It's supposed to be. This is a huge development/IT fail. The fact that they've let it go on this long is a Product Management fail.

6) There's a loading screen between each page. In 2013. This signifies that the back-end code is too slow for proper loading. This should not happen this day in age (or is it "day and age"...whichever is correct, use that one ). Development (if code-based), PM (if by design), or IT (if hardware-based) fail.

7) Constant failure at loading tables for restaurants before ADRs open up. Depending on where the delay is, this may be a Restaurant Management fail or a Data Entry/IT fail.

8) Software PM (Project/Product Management) and Software Design tending to add extra unnecessary bells and whistles (loading screens, fancy buttons, etc) while removing useful features (ADR date range, streamlined ADR process, etc)

Note that: "Sometimes it's slow" can very likely (depending on where the slowness comes from) be a failure on the part of IT. As described above, it is their job to design and maintain a network that is able to keep up with the server loads the web application demands. If it's an issue in routing to their datacenter(s), that's nothing they can help, but routing and server load issues within their datacenter(s) absolutely is their job.

There's more...but this should be a start.

Note that many people use the term IT loosely to cover all Web/App/Internal Software Development and Hardware needs. I tend to be a little more specific in assigning my blame, but the entire software engineering team as a whole has a ton of issues that present themselves every day.

I am SOOOO flippin' glad you posted ALL of that!!! I was "JUST ABOUT TO" type that "EXACT" word-for-word response!

I actually have been subjected to many of those exact problems. The ADR is scouting has been KILLING me. For several years, I blamed it on my ancient PC here, but after setting up my new Eight-core killer system, I feel that the problem must exist on the Mouse's end. Our cable connection screams too, so that's not the issue. Usually.

And another thang: I've generously applied "due" diligence in keeping up on this thread-complete with Disr bashing-but don't recall seeing much mentioned about smartphone battery life. We have numerous family members consistently killing their battery by early afternoon while in a park, on a bus, at a restaurant, etc. We have a special needs kiddo, and he's the main reason I carry a battery booster/charger. I can state with full confidence: Most folks don't do that. The ability to modify, change, or simply check your FP+ time from your phone comes to a halt when your phone dies. Yes, stating the obvious, I know, but the obvious can sometimes be the easiest to overlook.

 

[BalooPA]

From an IT side (Networking)

1) WiFi accessibility issues (in park), load issues, and overall poor performance from the network. Yes, this IS an IT issue as the network must be designed to handle the intended traffic and cover the areas that it's intended to cover. Since it doesn't, they failed at meeting their need.

2) Internal systems have had major network connectivity issues in the past, from the system "just not working" to data not being properly stored/transferred. This is a combination of Programming and IT issues, depending on the true cause (code/hardware)

3) Web Server infrastructure is very often throwing HTTP errors (500s are common, indicating server connectivity). This is a fail on IT's side like the WiFi, they did not design a powerful enough network to handle their needs. They need better load balancing and server routing/caching hardware/software. Web server performance also falls under this. The web sites for WDW (and other Disney companies) are notoriously slow. They absolutely know they're a very high traffic/demand application, as such, the system must be designed to handle it.

Not IT, but falling under the general umbrella that many call "IT"
4) Web Application functionality is always iffy. Many display bugs (see recent ADR count and ADR time bugs for examples) that simply should never be released. This is either Development or QA fail

4b) Mobile Application functionality is also iffy. Many of the same bugs with the web development side.

5) The MDX site cannot be accessed from Canada. It's supposed to be. This is a huge development/IT fail. The fact that they've let it go on this long is a Product Management fail.

6) There's a loading screen between each page. In 2013. This signifies that the back-end code is too slow for proper loading. This should not happen this day in age (or is it "day and age"...whichever is correct, use that one ). Development (if code-based), PM (if by design), or IT (if hardware-based) fail.

7) Constant failure at loading tables for restaurants before ADRs open up. Depending on where the delay is, this may be a Restaurant Management fail or a Data Entry/IT fail.

8) Software PM (Project/Product Management) and Software Design tending to add extra unnecessary bells and whistles (loading screens, fancy buttons, etc) while removing useful features (ADR date range, streamlined ADR process, etc)

Note that: "Sometimes it's slow" can very likely (depending on where the slowness comes from) be a failure on the part of IT. As described above, it is their job to design and maintain a network that is able to keep up with the server loads the web application demands. If it's an issue in routing to their datacenter(s), that's nothing they can help, but routing and server load issues within their datacenter(s) absolutely is their job.

There's more...but this should be a start.

Note that many people use the term IT loosely to cover all Web/App/Internal Software Development and Hardware needs. I tend to be a little more specific in assigning my blame, but the entire software engineering team as a whole has a ton of issues that present themselves every day.

To me, many of these speak to infrastructure issues. They could be remedied by throwing cash at the problem for a year or two instead of building new lands/attractions. Unfortunately, many of us (myself included) DEMAND new/constantly updated attractions that cripple the IT budget. Would you rather have a faster website, or Avatarland? Okay, maybe not a great example....but you get the point.

 

[mom2rtk]

People are posting that they are afraid that they won't be able to get FPs next year and giving specific examples - how can you give specific examples of something that has not occured? (various posts saying they won't be able to get a fast pass for TSM - but how can they say they can not get a FP+ for it when the system is not even rolled out...and you are not in the park?)

This is the doom and gloom I am talking about - people getting all excited and riled up and posting conjecture as fact. We know only what Disney had put out and it has been changing all the time - this should be an indication that no one knows anything.

I've seen posts where people are writing, as fact, that same day FP+ won't be possible for specific rides. You do NOT know that.. it might be or might not be the case. But by posting it as FACT in your post, it makes other people believe it. Specially if you are seen as a senior member of a board with lots of posts under your belt

People trust people who seem to know what they are doing/saying. If you post stories about how you won't be able to get BOG ADRs on the same day you can ride PP...people will think you have some sort of insider info - please avoid this type of post because it only causes panic.

So how is people posting their concerns about the system the same as making things up?

I have not seen a single thing posted here remotely close to the hyperbolic example you gave regarding BOG and PP.

 

[Robo]

I've generously applied "due" diligence in keeping up on this thread-complete with Disr bashing-but don't recall seeing much mentioned about smartphone battery life.

The ability to modify, change, or simply check your FP+ time from your phone comes to a halt when your phone dies.

There have been many, many threads about FP+ and the cellphone/device battery issues
have been discussed in quite a few.

There are to be (already are?) kiosks in the parks that allow guests to access
their FP+ files.

(And, yes, the speculation is that actually being able to GET TO one of them might
require a "FP line" of it's own.)