FP+ Details Are Out!

[mom2rtk]

Friend of the family got to test recently. Went to studios. Had no problem getting FP+ for all 3 E's. Said everything went smoothly. Will be testing again soon.

Let the "yes, but"s begin

Obviously YMMV, IMO, BYOB, etc. lol

Why wouldn't it have gone well? They got to keep regular FP privileges and were among a very limited number of people booking rides. Nothing about that predicts how it will be when it goes live for everyone in the park.

As I said before, I hope that was an operational test to see if the bands worked smoothly. Because if it was to test the favorability of the system, it was completely flawed.

 

[doconeill]

Friend of the family got to test recently. Went to studios. Had no problem getting FP+ for all 3 E's. Said everything went smoothly. Will be testing again soon.

Let the "yes, but"s begin

Obviously YMMV, IMO, BYOB, etc. lol

Yes, but...we already knew that.

What is the saying? "Past performance is no guarantee of future results..."

Some aspects of the test contradict the terms and conditions publicly posted. So we don't know if the test is indicative of changes they have already decided on, or if it was just a functionality test and not the final implementation.

 

[ExBellhop]

Yes, but...we already knew that.

What is the saying? "Past performance is no guarantee of future results..."

All PP's are correct I was simply happy to provide an example based on non-speculative results in which everything did not fall to crap. But yes, I'm still finding myself in the" wait and see what the *real* rules are" camp...

 

[Arsenal1982]

What happens if you're staying at Swan/Dolphin? How will this new rule affect that?

Those hotels are NOT booked on the Disney site and park cards/bands are not purchased at the same time so I'm confused.

 

[hookedonears]

Why wouldn't it have gone well? They got to keep regular FP privileges and were among a very limited number of people booking rides. Nothing about that predicts how it will be when it goes live for everyone in the park.

As I said before, I hope that was an operational test to see if the bands worked smoothly. Because if it was to test the favorability of the system, it was completely flawed.

Gloom, despair and agony on me. I think we should wait until the final product is rolled out, before declaring that the sky is falling and the world is ending.

 

[d1gitman]

Why wouldn't it have gone well? They got to keep regular FP privileges and were among a very limited number of people booking rides. Nothing about that predicts how it will be when it goes live for everyone in the park....

it would be interesting to know if the FP+ testing they have been doing is done with similer guest-to-FP+ ratios that will be in place when it goes live. i would hope they wouldn't flood the system with 10x the availability of FP+'s to the test group vs. what would be available to the entire mass of guests when it is live.

 

[d1gitman]

Gloom, despair and agony on me. I think we should wait until the final product is rolled out, before declaring that the sky is falling and the world is ending.

that's how i feel. while i have many questions and concerns, it just seems unfathomable to me that something this critical to guest satisfaction would not have been thoroughly thought out, planned out, etc....to a point that it would only be tweaking of the system once it rolls out vs. it blows up and they have a full retreat. if it does blow up, man oh man, i sure would hate to be the person who was in charge of the FP+ team.

 

[doconeill]

What happens if you're staying at Swan/Dolphin? How will this new rule affect that?

Those hotels are NOT booked on the Disney site and park cards/bands are not purchased at the same time so I'm confused.

What new rule, exactly?

Swophin guests will probably work just like they work now...for things where they are treated as on-site guests, they will continue to do so. For things where they are treated as off-site guests, that will continue.

As far as MagicBands, I do not believe they will get them by default, as the Swolphin has their own keycard system, and you cannot charge back to the room. However, like off-site guests it is planned that you could purchase a MagicBand for a fee, and possibly allow charges direct to a credit card and other non-resort related features.

 

[Arsenal1982]

What new rule, exactly?

Swophin guests will probably work just like they work now...for things where they are treated as on-site guests, they will continue to do so. For things where they are treated as off-site guests, that will continue.

As far as MagicBands, I do not believe they will get them by default, as the Swolphin has their own keycard system, and you cannot charge back to the room. However, like off-site guests it is planned that you could purchase a MagicBand for a fee, and possibly allow charges direct to a credit card and other non-resort related features.

What I meant by new rule was the new fast pass system.

I understand Swan/Dolphin have their own keycards but the keycards are only for the hotel, not the parks. If you want the parks, you have to buy tickets/bands direct from Disney right? What if you want to purchase these when you arrive in Disney? How would one be able to reserve the rides?

 

[hookedonears]

that's how i feel. while i have many questions and concerns, it just seems unfathomable to me that something this critical to guest satisfaction would not have been thoroughly thought out, planned out, etc....to a point that it would only be tweaking of the system once it rolls out vs. it blows up and they have a full retreat. if it does blow up, man oh man, i sure would hate to be the person who was in charge of the FP+ team.

Agree completely. I'm sure this project has been in the works for y e a r s, and y e a r s of planning are involved. Lots of heads will roll if it flops, but I predict it will be a success, just like ending late FP returns, the sky didn't fall then either.

 

[Robo]

What would be the reaction from observers of the testing a new electric commuter car design...

Starting with one prototype of the car and one set of test operators... driving the car in a circle in parking lot (slowly) for 15 minutes, then checking all of its systems, recharging the battery, then
driving it in the same parking lot (hot and heavy) for 15 minutes, then checking all of its systems, recharging the battery, then
driving it in a circle in parking lot (stop and start driving) for 15 minutes, then checking all of its systems, and recharging the battery.

Then, the test operators reporting that their tests, so far, have been positive.

Starting with another prototype of the car and new test operators... driving the car in a circle in parking lot (slowly) for 15 minutes, then checking all of its systems, recharging the battery, then
driving it in the same parking lot (hot and heavy) for 15 minutes, then checking all of its systems, recharging the battery, then
driving it in a circle in parking lot (stop and start driving) for 15 minutes, then checking all of its systems, and recharging the battery.

Then, the test operators reporting that their tests, so far, have been positive.

Anyone have any "yes but's?"

 

[doggydoc]

that's how i feel. while i have many questions and concerns, it just seems unfathomable to me that something this critical to guest satisfaction would not have been thoroughly thought out, planned out, etc....to a point that it would only be tweaking of the system once it rolls out vs. it blows up and they have a full retreat. if it does blow up, man oh man, i sure would hate to be the person who was in charge of the FP+ team.

If it's "thoroughly thought out, planned out etc." (which I agree should have been the case) then why all the secrecy? The common answer given here to that is "they don't know how it will be implemented, it has so much flexibility they are waiting for testing to finalize the program."

It can't be both ways. Either they had it planned out and realized "we" won't like it or they can't make it work, OR they don't have it planned out and are trying to figure out how to make it work to satisfy the most people. It's pretty obvious they have had some MAJOR wrenches thrown in the project because it was supposed to be online already. I just don't understand why, if Disney has everything together as many give them the benefit of the doubt for, don't they just give us more details?

 

[delmar411]

Why wouldn't it have gone well? They got to keep regular FP privileges and were among a very limited number of people booking rides. Nothing about that predicts how it will be when it goes live for everyone in the park.

As I said before, I hope that was an operational test to see if the bands worked smoothly. Because if it was to test the favorability of the system, it was completely flawed.

Exactly!

I haven't illusions this will go well. We are testing magic bands next week and I can't get the app or the website to recognize the tickets we have attached so it won't let me book FP times. That's a big ugly flaw and needs to be addressed ASAP because for testing purposes it is not an issue but for real life it will cause system meltdown. And I followed the Instructions step by step. I gave up after a couple hours messing with it and was extremely frustrated.

 

[mesaboy2]

Exactly!

I haven't illusions this will go well. We are testing magic bands next week and I can't get the app or the website to recognize the tickets we have attached so it won't let me book FP times. That's a big ugly flaw and needs to be addressed ASAP because for testing purposes it is not an issue but for real life it will cause system meltdown. And I followed the Instructions step by step. I gave up after a couple hours messing with it and was extremely frustrated.

Please let us know how it goes. Thanks!

 

[mom2rtk]

I just don't understand why, if Disney has everything together as many give them the benefit of the doubt for, don't they just give us more details?

Maybe they are afraid we will all just be so beside ourselves with excitement we will book too many extra trips that we overwhelm their systems.


Doing a park benefit takeaway and spinning it as an upgrade takes time you know.

 

[delmar411]

Please let us know how it goes. Thanks!

I will.

 

[bjakmom]

Gloom, despair and agony on me. I think we should wait until the final product is rolled out, before declaring that the sky is falling and the world is ending.

My experience with Disney has always been that they value guest feedback - in fact those DISers who have received phone calls in response to their concerns report that the CMs are actually ASKING for feedback/concerns during the test phase. Sometimes the designers of changes do not fully take into account some of the unintended consequences of the changes to guests - or what guests actually enjoy about their WDW vacas.

Like the (much less far-reaching) change they made in taking away all EMH hours and sending characters out to the resort lobbies in the early mornings because they said that's what guests were asking for - the backlash was huuuuge and that didn't last long.

Or the debacle created by whoever designed the new BLT kitchens with the bathroom sink IN the kitchen. The feedback was so negative that DVC had to re-configure all the kitchens/bathrooms to fix it at considerable expense.

So I never sit back and trust that all will be well in every decision Disney makes - I use this forum to gather information and express my concerns - Disney DOES monitor these boards and considers guest concerns as they design and develop many aspects of the guest experience. This is important to me - I (and my entire extended family) are DVC owners and visit the parks several times a year - my concerns over FP+ have already led me to delay or possibly decide against buying more DVC points - and I am not planning any visits in 2014 until I see how this works for us. All 5 of my sibs and their families have done the same. So, we'll see - but remaining quiet does not help the final product IMHO or in my experience.

Planning FPs 60 days out is a game changer for me - and many others apparently - I think Disney actually thought it would be something we would enjoy doing.

 

[d1gitman]

If it's "thoroughly thought out, planned out etc." (which I agree should have been the case) then why all the secrecy? The common answer given here to that is "they don't know how it will be implemented, it has so much flexibility they are waiting for testing to finalize the program."

It can't be both ways. Either they had it planned out and realized "we" won't like it or they can't make it work, OR they don't have it planned out and are trying to figure out how to make it work to satisfy the most people. It's pretty obvious they have had some MAJOR wrenches thrown in the project because it was supposed to be online already. I just don't understand why, if Disney has everything together as many give them the benefit of the doubt for, don't they just give us more details?

with regards to secrecy, that wouldn't be hard to figure out. what company that is working on a major project, one that could be a game changer, would ever let out all their info ahead of full rollout? that would just be stupid to reveal everything. Apple and it's competitors work hard to keep their next gen products under wraps...as any company does.

why it's not rolled out as of yet, who knows. could be they are still trying to figure things out or it could be more technical...hardware, software, etc...creating a one of a kind, first of its kind item/system often has setbacks that are unpredictable. Add in the fact that it's something that is on an enormous scale with many variables, yes, delays should be expected. Or maybe the various testing that has been ongoing revealed some info that they hadn't expected and they are either working to fix it or to include it. delays aren't always indicative of bad things.

i would venture to say that the core principle & intent of the system has been in tact from day one.

with myself being in construction and seeing all the unpredictable & uncontrollable issues that happen on a daily basis, despite relentless planning, leads me to believe that creation and implementation of FP+ is subject to delays and setbacks like any other project.

 

[doconeill]

What I meant by new rule was the new fast pass system.

I understand Swan/Dolphin have their own keycards but the keycards are only for the hotel, not the parks. If you want the parks, you have to buy tickets/bands direct from Disney right? What if you want to purchase these when you arrive in Disney? How would one be able to reserve the rides?

Those details are far from being made available, but it appears at this time that if you do not have a ticket associated with your profile, you will not be able to make FP+ bookings in advance.

 

[doggydoc]

My experience with Disney has always been that they value guest feedback - in fact those DISers who have received phone calls in response to their concerns report that the CMs are actually ASKING for feedback/concerns during the test phase. Sometimes the designers of changes do not fully take into account some of the unintended consequences of the changes to guests - or what guests actually enjoy about their WDW vacas.

Like the (much less far-reaching) change they made in taking away all EMH hours and sending characters out to the resort lobbies in the early mornings because they said that's what guests were asking for - the backlash was huuuuge and that didn't last long.

Or the debacle created by whoever designed the new BLT kitchens with the bathroom sink IN the kitchen. The feedback was so negative that DVC had to re-configure all the kitchens/bathrooms to fix it at considerable expense.

So I never sit back and trust that all will be well in every decision Disney makes - I use this forum to gather information and express my concerns - Disney DOES monitor these boards and considers guest concerns as they design and develop many aspects of the guest experience. This is important to me - I (and my entire extended family) are DVC owners and visit the parks several times a year - my concerns over FP+ have already led me to delay or possibly decide against buying more DVC points - and I am not planning any visits in 2014 until I see how this works for us. All 5 of my sibs and their families have done the same. So, we'll see - but remaining quiet does not help the final product IMHO or in my experience.

Planning FPs 60 days out is a game changer for me - and many others apparently - I think Disney actually thought it would be something we would enjoy doing.

Well stated.