FP+ Details Are Out!

[SRUAlmn]

I wish they would decide to manage this similarly to the dining plan. Your traveling group gets 3 per day, per person. For example, if we have 4 in our group we could have a total of 12FP+ per day to use at one park in whatever way best suits our touring. They wouldn't be able to be banked to other days since that could cause huge problems. Use them or lose them.

My reasoning is, our travel party is often myself, husband, mom, and sister. Thinking of DHS for example... We would all want one of our 3 to be for TSMM. My mom and I aren't big riders, so my sister and husband would use their other 2 for TOT and RNRC. That leaves my mom and I with two each that we don't really 'need' and it would be silly to use for something like preferred seating when it would only be for the two of us and my husband and sister wouldn't have another allocation to join us.

 

[rastuso]

I will put my 2 cents in. There is no way I thought at first this would work for us. We are a QSDP look at the weather type family. If it is going to rain head to a park if it is nice out go to the WP.

But after doing my FP+ reservations than going back in to change the times around a bit. I actually think I'm going to like it. No running to get a FP in the morning for the attraction I want. Then play the waiting game to get the next one. Honestly this feel like it will make things so much easier for us. We waste alot of time just going to get FP in the first place. I tweeked the times of my FP+ so we can always eat between 1100-1200. Which we do anyway to beat all the QS rushes.

I was able to FP+ fantasmic which we weren't even going to see. Since the day we planned to go it wasn't showing. But because I was able to get a FP for it we will just go to the WP during the day then head to HS do TSM, Fantasmic and star tours.

I just think all the running around from one thing to the next is going to be wonderful!

The only down side on average we us 3-5 FP a day not sure on the 3 rule. But we will make it work.

Trust me I know not everyone likes the idea but I'm warming up to it.

Again, if you are part of a test, that is NOT what FP+ will be like. I'm sure you can change your rides and times as much as you want now. THere is no way that will be the case in full rollout.

Jason

 

[doggydoc]

that is how i feel...while i like the current FP system, i very much dislike the FP running around.

I would have thought it makes more sense for Disney to implement the MagicBands and utilize FP+ as merely an electronic delivery of FP's for a phase 1 rollout as well as the other features like park entrance, shopping, room key, etc... Then after a year of that they would have live data to dissect and maybe start of easy with allowing 1 prebooking on FP+ but still maintain the same day functionality of FP. They could then introduce the ability to change FP's during the day. Pending how that goes, up it to 2 FP+ prebooks, etc...until they find the breaking point.

I have said this before, why try to roll it all out at once? A system like you describe would definitely be a PLUS to the current system and the segmented rollout would prevent so many issues. The argument put forth supporting 3 FP's and no more has always been that Disney thinks regular FP is broken and that FP's need to be spread around more. I don't buy it but there is no evidence to base a counter argument on other than "it doesn't make sense."

 

[SoonerSean]

I don't think outside of TSM we ever "ran" all over for FastPasses. Our typical day would be to say:

RD at MK at 9AM
- Go FP Peter Pan's Flight
- Ride Dumbo
- Ride the Merry Go Round
- Ride Goofy's Barnstormer
- Go use the FP on Peter Pan
- Walk over and FP Jungle Cruise
- Ride Pirates
- Lunch
- Ride Jungle Cruise
- Walk over and FP Big Thunder Mountain
- Ride Pirates again
- Ride Snow White
- See Philharmagic
- Go ride BTM
etc.

By the end of the day we'd typically use probably 5-6 FP's and never feel rushed in the process.

And the nice thing about some attractions (thinking about Star Tours in particular) you could get a FP, go ride standy-by twice, then use your FP and then quickly get another FP and ride it again in an hour or so, i.e. if there wasn't a long stand-by line you could mix stand-by and FP to ride a ride several times.

And - while not a huge thing - I would bet you 3-days out of every 5 someone would come up to us and hand us 2-4 FP for a headline ride. We rode Soarin and Mission to Mars last year on the same day within an hour thanks to people just walking by and giving away their FP's. That obviously won't happen under this new system.

 

[ironpig70]

As a rookie I am not liking this.

So now I need to book when and where to eat

Now I need to book my FP rides

Sounds like my days will be set in stone. And not knowing what the wait to get into/out of an ADR and ride times and crowd levels and weather could make for a fun time.

 

[d1gitman]

i think another 'better' solution is to allow same day only FP+ just like FP- with the exception that you will be allowed to book 3 FP+'s upon entry of the park, hence "prebooking" FP+'s for that day.

this would give the same benefit to those who go early just as FP- does now. if allowing 3 headliners all at once is too much, they could impose the 2 hr. timeframe between the 3 FP+'s.

in fact, that might be a benefit with regards to spreading out the FP+s because if you go at RD now, the return times are shorter than the 2 hr window and thus the FP's get used up at a faster rate prior to the crowds hitting the parks.

 

[Robo]

i think another 'better' solution is to allow same day only FP+ just like FP- with the exception that


you will be allowed to book 3 FP+'s upon entry of the park, hence "prebooking" FP+'s for that day.

How would that be accomplished?

 

[f19810]

How would that be accomplished?

I am not a programmer but I would think that it would be easy to program. Once you enter the park, your fast pass+ choices would available. You enter in your choices and if they are not 2hrs apart, it gets a dread error message. I agree that this system is the best of both worlds. No running around and you don't ave to pan 60 days out. Even better is to make the first choice available 24hrs in advance so that you don't have to get up early to make rd or to make fast pass reservations.

 

[momof2n2]

I don't think outside of TSM we ever "ran" all over for FastPasses. Our typical day would be to say:

RD at MK at 9AM
- Go FP Peter Pan's Flight
- Ride Dumbo
- Ride the Merry Go Round
- Ride Goofy's Barnstormer
- Go use the FP on Peter Pan
- Walk over and FP Jungle Cruise
- Ride Pirates
- Lunch
- Ride Jungle Cruise
- Walk over and FP Big Thunder Mountain
- Ride Pirates again
- Ride Snow White
- See Philharmagic
- Go ride BTM
etc.

By the end of the day we'd typically use probably 5-6 FP's and never feel rushed in the process.

And the nice thing about some attractions (thinking about Star Tours in particular) you could get a FP, go ride standy-by twice, then use your FP and then quickly get another FP and ride it again in an hour or so, i.e. if there wasn't a long stand-by line you could mix stand-by and FP to ride a ride several times.

And - while not a huge thing - I would bet you 3-days out of every 5 someone would come up to us and hand us 2-4 FP for a headline ride. We rode Soarin and Mission to Mars last year on the same day within an hour thanks to people just walking by and giving away their FP's. That obviously won't happen under this new system.

This is the closest post to describe our usage... But, I can see thru these 2000+ posts that my family is a bit different. We are the folks who want to ride our favorites 3-4 times. It's nothing for us to RD to Soarin', grab FP, then ride Standby. We head over to Seas then our Soarin' time is up. We head over and ride TT (husband GM employee) then send DH to grab another Soarin and we standby MS and play in Innoventions. Depending on return time we eat lunch - or not.

At DHS we would RD to TSMM, grab FP & ride SB. Poke around (see Narnia) and wait for TSMM return. When that window opened we'd ride and grab another (with much later return) and head to RnRc. Do SB x 2. Visit shops, etc.
(Not ToT fans). Head to other side of park. After TSMM return later we'd ride & maybe send someone to grab RnRc... (Granted, Star tours was closed last visit.)
We don't do ADRs anymore at DHS.

I guess our best hope would be RD & do TSMM SB twice.

I hate that it has to be three different rides.

 

[SoonerSean]

We've done the same as you several times.

The stipulation that you can't use the FP on the same ride more than once is awful.

At DHS we might FP TSM twice in the same day - if they remained available. Or during a long day at MK we might have FP Space Mountain 2-3X depending on the return times.

Honestly... the expected elimination of same day FP is the worst part of the whole thing along with limiting you to one park/one day and no repeats.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

I wish they would decide to manage this similarly to the dining plan. Your traveling group gets 3 per day, per person. For example, if we have 4 in our group we could have a total of 12FP+ per day to use at one park in whatever way best suits our touring. They wouldn't be able to be banked to other days since that could cause huge problems. Use them or lose them.

My reasoning is, our travel party is often myself, husband, mom, and sister. Thinking of DHS for example... We would all want one of our 3 to be for TSMM. My mom and I aren't big riders, so my sister and husband would use their other 2 for TOT and RNRC. That leaves my mom and I with two each that we don't really 'need' and it would be silly to use for something like preferred seating when it would only be for the two of us and my husband and sister wouldn't have another allocation to join us.

This is our family also. Many times my DM travels with us and neither of us like to ride Splash Mountain. It is my son's favorite ride. I loved giving my FP to my DS so he could ride his favorite ride 2 times. I would spend my time just waiting while eating a snack or shopping but it brought me happiness knowing I was able to give my child some extra happiness. This is yet another thing I dislike about FP+. And since we always travel during peak season, SB gets long for this ride quickly. So now if we FP+ Splash then we would have 1 or 2 FP+s that would go to waste because I would not want to experience anything without my DS. If it is just my family of 3, I have no desire to go and ride a ride alone!

 

[Shaden]

have never had to run for FPs, have always enjoyed seeing an FP return time, comparing it to standby and deciding on the moment whether to do it or not, and going through the parks in that manor.

I AM a PLANNER but planning at 60 days out which attractions you are doing, is insane IMO.

There are simply too many unknowns which interfere with trips, which means you have to be flexible WHILE you are there. Locking in to FPs 60 days out does not allow that at all, unless capacity is held back to allow that flexibility, but for many reasons already well established, that's not going to happen.

I would love it if they just made FP+ and electronic delivery of FPs, but sadly, doesn't seem like that's how its going to work.

 

[momof2n2]

Honestly... the expected elimination of same day FP is the worst part of the whole thing along with limiting you to one park/one day and no repeats.

This
AND only 3
AND 60 days out.
And a band on my wrist.
And ...
Okay.
All of it.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I wrote to Disney to express some of my feelings/concerns and here is the response I received (very quickly, I might add.) I just thought I'd share. The comments in red are obviously mine.

"Dear ________,

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.



You will be happy to know that not all guests in your travel party will
need to select the same attractions for the FastPass+ experience. If you
have guests who wish to go on different attractions then that it totally
fine!
I never said I thought this, they misinterpreted my concern that it's encouraging families to spend time apart due to only being able to choose 3 attractions and people having different interests and, therefore, people riding alone and separate from their family.

This feature is still in the testing periods however, most guests who
have taken part of the testing have really enjoyed the hours of time
saved from utilizing the given number of FastPass+ options. Umm.....hours?.....really??The current
number of Fastpass+ attractions has strictly been tested to see how many
per day would be the most beneficial to guests. Only one Disney Park
can currently be selected for the FastPass+ because we’ve currently
found that setting up times for more than one Disney park could at times
put guests in a time crunch. The current number of FastPass+ options has
been proven to be the most sufficient amount to allow guests to overall
experience more attractions during their visit.

We look forward to your next visit, _______!


If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact
us.


Sincerely,
______________
WDW Online Communications"

 

[bcrook]

I wrote to Disney to express some of my feelings/concerns and here is the response I received (very quickly, I might add.) I just thought I'd share. The comments in red are obviously mine.

"Dear ________,

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.



You will be happy to know that not all guests in your travel party will
need to select the same attractions for the FastPass+ experience. If you
have guests who wish to go on different attractions then that it totally
fine!
I never said I thought this, they misinterpreted my concern that it's encouraging families to spend time apart due to only being able to choose 3 attractions and people having different interests and, therefore, people riding alone and separate from their family.

This feature is still in the testing periods however, most guests who
have taken part of the testing have really enjoyed the hours of time
saved from utilizing the given number of FastPass+ options. Umm.....hours?.....really??The current
number of Fastpass+ attractions has strictly been tested to see how many
per day would be the most beneficial to guests. Only one Disney Park
can currently be selected for the FastPass+ because weve currently
found that setting up times for more than one Disney park could at times
put guests in a time crunch. The current number of FastPass+ options has
been proven to be the most sufficient amount to allow guests to overall
experience more attractions during their visit.

We look forward to your next visit, _______!


If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact
us.


Sincerely,
______________
WDW Online Communications"

Fascinating! The tone is starting to sound "impatient"? "Tired" ? "Matter of fact"?

 

[mom2rtk]

I wrote to Disney to express some of my feelings/concerns and here is the response I received (very quickly, I might add.) I just thought I'd share. The comments in red are obviously mine.

"Dear ________,

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.



You will be happy to know that not all guests in your travel party will
need to select the same attractions for the FastPass+ experience. If you
have guests who wish to go on different attractions then that it totally
fine!
I never said I thought this, they misinterpreted my concern that it's encouraging families to spend time apart due to only being able to choose 3 attractions and people having different interests and, therefore, people riding alone and separate from their family.

This feature is still in the testing periods however, most guests who
have taken part of the testing have really enjoyed the hours of time
saved from utilizing the given number of FastPass+ options. Umm.....hours?.....really??The current
number of Fastpass+ attractions has strictly been tested to see how many
per day would be the most beneficial to guests. Only one Disney Park
can currently be selected for the FastPass+ because we’ve currently
found that setting up times for more than one Disney park could at times
put guests in a time crunch. The current number of FastPass+ options has
been proven to be the most sufficient amount to allow guests to overall
experience more attractions during their visit.

We look forward to your next visit, _______!


If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact
us.


Sincerely,
______________
WDW Online Communications"

LOL, so happy to hear that them cutting back my access to FP from unlimited to 3 (or 4) and limiting me to once per ride is "most beneficial".

And it sounds like maybe they were concerned guests would not allow enough time between parks for hopping. Which might not be unfounded. Any time I see a WDW newbie's schedule, they always seem to underestimate how long "hopping" will take. Sounds like maybe Disney doesn't want to have to play clean up on the back end when it goes wrong.

 

[mom2rtk]

Fascinating! The tone is starting to sound "impatient"? "Tired" ? "Matter of fact"?

Yes, the response and tone certainly have shifted in recent weeks.

 

[bcrook]

LOL, so happy to hear that them cutting back my access to FP from unlimited to 3 (or 4) and limiting me to once per ride is "most beneficial".

And it sounds like maybe they were concerned guests would not allow enough time between parks for hopping. Which might not be unfounded. Any time I see a WDW newbie's schedule, they always seem to underestimate how long "hopping" will take. Sounds like maybe Disney doesn't want to have to play clean up on the back end when it goes wrong.

Good point, but they could log in and change the times to a later time if time gets short. Remember this is all about "flexibility".

 

[Planogirl]

Fascinating! The tone is starting to sound "impatient"? "Tired" ? "Matter of fact"?

I heard "just deal with it" and also impatience. I guess that we can be a bit annoying with all of the questions.

However, Disney wouldn't get so many questions if they provided more answers.

 

[bcrook]

I heard "just deal with it" and also impatience. I guess that we can be a bit annoying with all of the questions.

However, Disney wouldn't get so many questions if they provided more answers.