FP+ Details Are Out!

[Shaden]

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?

This exactly ... and this is the type of schizophrenic response from the FP+ optimists i see too often and actually makes me worry more.

FP+ will have tons of space to pree-book, otherwise people will be mad ..... but dont worry I am sure they withhold a ton of FP spots for same day booking, otherwise people will be mad when they cant change things at the parks


FP+ will be totally awesome for new people because Disney will promote it to them and it will be easy for them to use ..... FP+ will be awesome for Disney pros because the newbies wont know what they are doing allowing us to use the system to our full advantage

FP+ will be a plenty, and allow for additional same day FPs beyond your initial 3 ...... FP+ will limit the overuse of FPs meaning SB lines will be shorter for all

FP+ has been totally thought out, well planned and will be executed well .... don't worry Fp+ has a ton of flexibility so they can iron out all the issues once it rolls out ..... don't worry they havent made any final decisions about FP+ I am sure with our feedback they will make sure it works .... Don't bother with feedback DISers arent important to Disney because we are such a small group ...

etc etc ....

 

[squirrel4569]

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.

I also think that it's very important that they get this right. Something that may seem insignificant to many companies can be treacherous on a scale as large as Disney. If there's a 1% failure rate on MagicBands for a place that handles 100,000 people a day that's a big deal. A 5 minute system downtime that prevents the RFID readers at the gates from working would be a disaster. Again, these are small numbers that may seem like no big deal to many, but when put on the scale that Disney deals with daily it's huge. Much better to get the bugs worked out with extensive testing rather than putting it out there and trying to retrofit things.

A great example of that is Microsoft. Look at the reputation they have for quality. It's very poor because they rush software and products to market knowing there are issues. Disney has a reputation among most for quality and I think they want to keep it that way.

 

[Robo]

80/20 rule explains it all.



What?

Oh, never mind.

 

[rastuso]

This exactly ... and this is the type of schizophrenic response from the FP+ optimists i see too often and actually makes me worry more.

FP+ will have tons of space to pree-book, otherwise people will be mad ..... but dont worry I am sure they withhold a ton of FP spots for same day booking, otherwise people will be mad when they cant change things at the parks


FP+ will be totally awesome for new people because Disney will promote it to them and it will be easy for them to use ..... FP+ will be awesome for Disney pros because the newbies wont know what they are doing allowing us to use the system to our full advantage

FP+ will be a plenty, and allow for additional same day FPs beyond your initial 3 ...... FP+ will limit the overuse of FPs meaning SB lines will be shorter for all

FP+ has been totally thought out, well planned and will be executed well .... don't worry Fp+ has a ton of flexibility so they can iron out all the issues once it rolls out ..... don't worry they havent made any final decisions about FP+ I am sure with our feedback they will make sure it works .... Don't bother with feedback DISers arent important to Disney because we are such a small group ...

etc etc ....

Exactly. The optimists have no valid, consistent argument. And heck, some say it will be fine because they would be happy with 3 afternoon FP+s, and maybe a few RD rides at another park for the park day.

I think many of the optimists are folks who buy length of stay passes, and don't concern themselves with money (digitman bragged of his spending habits there). They give Disney hundreds a day for a week for park access, and if most of those days get them a small handful of rides, they are happy.

Hey, that may be great for them, but not the average person, wanting to maximize their vacation fun/value.

There is pretty much no way that FP+ will not greatly lower the value of a turbo user of FP. The optimists pretty much agree with that, and simply say you can always RD and run, and of course choose no FP+ all together if you don't like it!

Just like FP enforcement, you continually see the optimists say that wasn't the end of the world. Yet, I've read MANY people say it greatly lowered the fun they had on their trip. Again, it's expectations. If you were always blissfully ignorant to how many E ticket rides you could get on a given day, and were happy with the magic 9 experiences, then FP+ won't be a massive change to you. And you are exactly what Disney likes.

If you are a FP expert, and get way beyond 9 experiences, Disney doesn't like you, and believes they can increase their profit by throttling you, just like cell companies and internet companies. And we're all about to be throttled. The difference is, unlike cell companies, where almost all of them have throttles now, Disney's main competitor offers free FP abuse times 10 for anyone paying to stay in their resorts that are much more reasonably priced than Disney's.

I wonder why that is? How can they do that? Oh, I know, BECAUSE THEY ARE BUILDING NEW RIDES, AND INCREASING CAPACITY!

I think it's pretty short sighted for Disney. But, hey, they may make a billion dollars in magic band ware. And can pick up all the lost jibbits every day, clean them, and repackage them for even bigger profits! Who doesn't want to put $20 of easily lost plastic on their toddler's wrist?

Jason

 

[xipetotec]

Exactly. The optimists have no valid, consistent argument. And heck, some say it will be fine because they would be happy with 3 afternoon FP+s, and maybe a few RD rides at another park for the park day.

I think many of the optimists are folks who buy length of stay passes, and don't concern themselves with money (digitman bragged of his spending habits there). They give Disney hundreds a day for a week for park access, and if most of those days get them a small handful of rides, they are happy.

Hey, that may be great for them, but not the average person, wanting to maximize their vacation fun/value.

There is pretty much no way that FP+ will not greatly lower the value of a turbo user of FP. The optimists pretty much agree with that, and simply say you can always RD and run, and of course choose no FP+ all together if you don't like it!

Just like FP enforcement, you continually see the optimists say that wasn't the end of the world. Yet, I've read MANY people say it greatly lowered the fun they had on their trip. Again, it's expectations. If you were always blissfully ignorant to how many E ticket rides you could get on a given day, and were happy with the magic 9 experiences, then FP+ won't be a massive change to you. And you are exactly what Disney likes.

If you are a FP expert, and get way beyond 9 experiences, Disney doesn't like you, and believes they can increase their profit by throttling you, just like cell companies and internet companies. And we're all about to be throttled. The difference is, unlike cell companies, where almost all of them have throttles now, Disney's main competitor offers free FP abuse times 10 for anyone paying to stay in their resorts that are much more reasonably priced than Disney's.

I wonder why that is? How can they do that? Oh, I know, BECAUSE THEY ARE BUILDING NEW RIDES, AND INCREASING CAPACITY!

I think it's pretty short sighted for Disney. But, hey, they may make a billion dollars in magic band ware. And can pick up all the lost jibbits every day, clean them, and repackage them for even bigger profits! Who doesn't want to put $20 of easily lost plastic on their toddler's wrist?

Jason

Well our family DOES get length of stay passes. And it's TRUE that we probably don't get more than 3 fastpasses in a day...

But we also sort of "play it by ear" once we're in the park depending on wait times. We never plan our fastpasses in advance today. I think this will cramp our style considerably.

 

[SoonerSean]

The requirement to plan ahead and limit you to only three in a day at one park is a disaster... IF the current FP system goes away.

If you can use the FP+ to schedule three rides and then still use the existing FP system once you're in the parks... it wouldn't be an issue with anyone.

But the limit of 3 and the one park limit is a real head scratcher to me and essentially means FP won't exist for most folks. Scheduling just three things a day in one park will basically render them meaningless. Heck - there's only three rides at DHS and four at EPCOT and most people don't do all of them. Use the FP+ for TSM and if you don't like roller coasters or a big drop ride... you've wasted an entire day under the FP+ system.

Just awful to me if they end the current FP system. If by some miracle they keep it... then FP+ would be a nice addition to the services offered bc you could schedule the more popular rides in advance and still use FP for the others or, if your situation changes, you could ignore your scheduled events (vs. the potential hassle of trying to reschedule) and just use the existing FP system.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I don't think there is any chance they will keep the current FP system and add FP+. If FPs run out currently for the big rides now, there wouldn't be any capacity to add more.

 

[WDW in Pearls]

Yep, but we are also the vast majority when it comes to spending money, repeat business, Disney doing things right/correct, importance to Disney's survival as well.

100% false. We make up that group but we're only a sliver of it. Some of the folks I know that spend the most money in Disney (one of them spends well over 10k yearly) have either not heard of the DISboards or don't like them.

 

[dayvewc]

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?

I know nothing. Nothing at all. But I suspect that you pretty well hit it on the head in the second paragraph. Someone HAD a "thoroughly thought out plan" that worked well for THEM and included flexibility as THEY would have wanted, given the constraints that Disney insisted on (throttle down super-users, etc.)

However, as more and more people became involved, and as users and others (us DISers) began asking questions, someone has realized that the "pasty skinned IT uber-planner ideal" is NOT going to fit or work for everyone, and the flexibility thought to be in the system may not accommodate all the needed changes.

My personal BELIEF (again, I KNOW nothing) is that while they are doing testing to see if the parts of the plan work, they are frantically behind the scenes trying to adjust to the massive hordes who will be expected to use the system. Then, instead of having to say "oops, we goofed up" they will eventually roll out something that is less geared to "pasty skinned IT uber-planner" and a bit more to "hey kids! I got a bonus today, lets leave for WDW tomorrow" but still irritates the "I NEED to ride all the mountains 14 times a day or I'll never give Disney another penny" group.

Just my thoughts, please take with a grain (or box) of salt.

 

[Arsenal1982]

I'm actually a big fan of this once the details all get sorted out. Get to one park for rope drop and then use the FP+ to reserve rides either at that park in the afternoon or perhaps another park for afternoon/evening. LOVE IT!!

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm actually a big fan of this once the details all get sorted out. Get to one park for rope drop and then use the FP+ to reserve rides either at that park in the afternoon or perhaps another park for afternoon/evening. LOVE IT!!

I like the concept as well. In theory, it fits how my family tours (we never use more than 3 FPs a day) and a scenario like the above sounds fine to me, even better than the current.

But, I will only be happy if I can get a ride schedule that I like at the 60 day mark. If I can't, then I will cancel trips, no doubt.

I also understand why some people don't even like the concept though if they generally use more than 3 a day.

 

[Holly324]

Okay, I am kinda new to researching the FP+, but now that we are planning our next trip for 2014, I thought I should start figuring it out. Last time we went, they weren't even enforcing times on the FP, so this will be a HUGE change for us. Now that I have looked into it a bit, I am no expert, but I have to voice my opinion. I do not like this AT ALL. I am a huge planner, but this is a bit much. Figuring out what rides we want to do at the exact time 60 days out? We love to park hop. If one park seems really busy, we will hop over to another. With FP+, that won't be an option. We will have to make sure we stay to use our FP for that particular park before we can hope to escape the crowds. And only 3 per day? If they don't keep up with the normal FP, 3 seems pretty low to me. That all being said, I still have over a year to plan for this trip, so I will try my best to keep an open mind!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I think it's pretty short sighted for Disney. But, hey, they may make a billion dollars in magic band ware. And can pick up all the lost jibbits every day, clean them, and repackage them for even bigger profits! Who doesn't want to put $20 of easily lost plastic on their toddler's wrist?

Jason

The MB bling is one category on merch that I would never spend a dime on, even if I had Bill Gates' checkbook. Then again, I have never bought a Vinylmation either so maybe I am just behind the times

 

[Cyrano]

Closed for timeout and moderation.

 

[Cyrano]

Re-opened

 

[Arsenal1982]

Re-opened

Good!

 

[jade1]

100% false. We make up that group but we're only a sliver of it. Some of the folks I know that spend the most money in Disney (one of them spends well over 10k yearly) have either not heard of the DISboards or don't like them.

Actually that was my exact point, hence the rolling eye guy.

 

[cheerful chickadee]

ok so does anyone know at which resorts they are doing testing right now and when the testing will take place? I know the last ones were CR and AKL (right? lol)

Also, those who have participated in the testing: how were you notified or asked to take part? how far in advance of your trip?

 

[WDW in Pearls]

Actually that was my exact point, hence the rolling eye guy.

Lol, sorry! Unfortunately I've run into way too many people who are completely serious in thinking that way. Like creating a login on a particular site makes your money greener lol not just this site either!

 

[doconeill]

ok so does anyone know at which resorts they are doing testing right now and when the testing will take place? I know the last ones were CR and AKL (right? lol)

Also, those who have participated in the testing: how were you notified or asked to take part? how far in advance of your trip?

There was a report of it happening at the Yacht Club, but haven't gotten much info.

delmar411 will be participating next week at the AKL, as part of castmember testing.