FP--- Disney has become too regimented

[WillAustin]

Watch the lines when you get close in standby. I watched the lines in the 7 Dwarfs on Friday. They only admitted standby when no one was in FP. As a result, they were not efficiently moving both lines. They could have moved both sides and let a small line build up in FP. Their goal seemed to be make sure no one waited in FP. As a result, the SB line was not moving efficiently. So in your example, the more people in FP delays the SB line since at least in 7 Dwarfs they do not mix the lines but go from one to the other then back again.

They've always prioritized FP over stand-by with high ratios and it changes depending on the FP line. Sometimes it's 80% or more FP vs. 20% or less stand-by.

 

[larryz]

Would a multi-billion dollar company care about what the impact on wait times was as long as the impact on their profits was positive ?

Once you buy the ticket, they have your money -- whether or not you ever visit a park.

 

[Rhody73]

The days of not planning are surely over. But really, they have been for a long time. I agree with all of your points above and dislike the new FP system. That being said, I just plugged in our info on disneys site for how much it would cost for our family to go for one week in September, one of the least expensive times. So it would be 2 adults and our 5 kids, 16, 12, 11, 4, and 3. We are a larger family so it really bumps up the price and narrows down our accommodation choices. This is for Saturday to Saturday at OKW, keeping in mind that it would be free dining. We would buy a 4 day ticket with water parks and more option. The total JUST for what I listed is $7,725 at OKW. This does not factor in misc. expenses, tips, travel etc. If someone is spending a large some of money like this, they better plan! Anyone that thinks they can spend over $7K on a trip and not plan but have a magical time is delusional!

Now for people that only do a day trip here and there I can imagine it is frustrating! At least with the old FP system you had the chance to get more FP's.

Wow That is very expensive considering September is off season both crowd and weather wise. I started the thread and I was not suggesting to not plan. What I saw last week was families struggling because a schedule was not flexible enough to allow creativity. In your case, you have to lock up FP on the 4 park days. But what happens if it is not a water park day on the day you select for a water park 4 months in advance. 10 years ago you made those decisions when you saw the weekly weather. Not it can be decided by FP booked well before you arrive in Fla.

 

[lauradis]

There seems to be a sense of entilement from rider maximizers amongs the population who are upset that they cannot ride the top rides 10 times in a day anymore with limited wait times. While that is unfortunate that your preferred touring style is going to be quite difficult going forward, you should also see that this is a bonus to the vast majority of guests going to WDW as they get a taste of the best rides with limited waits, see others, and could if they want RD and hit those more headliners again as well.

This is what Disney wants I would guess, they dont want first timers having a RD requirement to ride 7DMT with a short wait, or see a FP- return time of 7pm or later, or having to sit in 90 minute lines.

Ty Doug....

 

[cakebaker]

I'm not sure there's much more inflexibility than knowing if you weren't at the parks very early, every single day of your trip that you could be shut out of fps for popular rides and/or be forced to accept times that messed up your entire plan.

Both systems have their drawbacks for different guests. The problem comes in when people want to claim fp+ a disaster because it doesn't work for them.

No, it just doesn't fit your style- as paper fp didn't fit ours.

 

[Rhody73]

They've always prioritized FP over stand-by with high ratios and it changes depending on the FP line. Sometimes it's 80% or more FP vs. 20% or less stand-by.

Agree but I am not sure it is scientific At 4:45 Peter Pan had a 70 minute wait and we literally walked on to the ride w FP. My point was that they probably was not using a 80/20 they were using a 100%. Every FP person who walked up went right on the ride. If they delayed FP by a few minutes the 70 minute wait would have come down. I had a FP for Haunted Mansion for the afternoon but walked on becuase the wait time was posted at 25 minutes. It actually took 40 but obviously the wait times are estimates. But then I went to a kiosk to cancel my FP but the employee at the kiosk said they don't need to cancel a future FP. That means they are not directing the ride lines based on FP allocated.

 

[AngiTN]

I agree with you that Disney researched FP and as the original poster I stated as much. But I am lucky in that I go off-season and having been 15 times we can pick and choose what we want to see. But as a veteran observer, I now find that in off-season there are pretty long lines. Peter Pan always had 75 minute waits during busy days before FP and now it has 75 minute waits during off-season. What will happen in the busy season??? I look around at families that are spending big bucks to spend more of their day waiting in lines than enjoying rides. Maybe the crowds dicate that. But I think the one probelm I saw is thatsome FP lines had 1 minute wait while the stanby line had an hour wait. I am not sure how good the young Disney employees are at balancing the FP versus the standby line.

Oddly enough, it seems to balance out. I don't know the logistics of how they plan capacity but it seems to me, based on my limited observations, they've evened the waits out so that you wait about the same be it busy season or not busy season. Now, that sort of bites for those lucky folks who can travel off season but for those of us limited to times school is out it is actually rather nice.

 

[Luckybee]

Ty Doug....

Feel like Im repeating myself....but the quote you were praising had absolutely no bearing whatsoever on what the complaints of the op. Perhaps people should actually read what the op said.

 

[mom2rtk]

There seems to be a sense of entilement from rider maximizers amongs the population who are upset that they cannot ride the top rides 10 times in a day anymore with limited wait times. While that is unfortunate that your preferred touring style is going to be quite difficult going forward, you should also see that this is a bonus to the vast majority of guests going to WDW as they get a taste of the best rides with limited waits, see others, and could if they want RD and hit those more headliners again as well.

This is what Disney wants I would guess, they dont want first timers having a RD requirement to ride 7DMT with a short wait, or see a FP- return time of 7pm or later, or having to sit in 90 minute lines.

How about just wanting to ride both top attractions in a given park with FP? Does that indicate a sense of entitlement?

 

[lauradis]

Feel like Im repeating myself....but the quote you were praising had absolutely no bearing whatsoever on what the complaints of the op. Perhaps people should actually read what the op said.

"There seems to be a sense of entilement from rider maximizers amongs the population who are upset that they cannot ride the top rides 10 times in a day anymore with limited wait times. "

Minus the over drama of 10 times, you cant tell me there isn't a sense of well earned tried and true touring style entitlement under fp- death that repeat visitors feel very upset about.

The op is staying that fp+ has taken the non planning of rides away and made it more ridge, the above statement just took it a step further.

What thread ever stays on topic. Right this min. the community board has a thread about gofundme accts and they started talking about gift registries on invitations.

 

[Doug M]

How about just wanting to ride both top attractions in a given park with FP?

No argument here, FP tiers are redcilous, but that is Disneys own fault having so few good rides in HS and Epcot.

 

[lauradis]

Feel like Im repeating myself....but the quote you were praising had absolutely no bearing whatsoever on what the complaints of the op. Perhaps people should actually read what the op said.

And I read it and felt sad for OP.

 

[LetsTalkWDW]

You can complain all you want here, but as long as attendance numbers keep increasing, Disney will think they have made the correct choice. Just by reading this thread you can tell that there is no clear consensus among INFORMED Disney customers of whether FP+ is a good thing or a bad thing. The vast majority of people who go to Disney do not read this forum (or probably any other forum), they go to Disney have their fun, then repeat. So how does Disney make its judgement - they look at the bottom line.

 

[mom2rtk]

No argument here, FP tiers are redcilous, but that is Disneys own fault having so few good rides in HS and Epcot.

Then your prior argument is a straw man. Nobody is advocating for 10 repeats. Most would jump with joy if the tiers just went away. But you're absolutely right. They won't. They can't.

 

[Doug M]

Then your prior argument is a straw man. Nobody is advocating for 10 repeats. Most would jump with joy if the tiers just went away. But you're absolutely right. They won't. They can't.

No people seemed mad that they couldn't RD, start grabbing FP for a ride, then lather rense repeat, i was attempting to point out FP- or not, that was going to be harder to do or at least fewer times with increase in guests in the parks. FP+ i dont see as the cause for the issue of increased waits. I have said i wish they had both systems so folks that dont RD can rest assured they can FP a big ride.

My 10 comment was being absurd on purpose to statements that FP+ is the worst solution, that is all. People are assigning causation to the FP+ system where none may exist, there is insufficient available facts to support a link.

 

[Luckybee]

No people seemed mad that they couldn't RD, start grabbing FP for a ride, then lather rense repeat, i was attempting to point out FP- or not, that was going to be harder to do or at least fewer times with increase in guests in the parks. FP+ i dont see as the cause for the issue of increased waits. I have said i wish they had both systems so folks that dont RD can rest assured they can FP a big ride.

My 10 comment was being absurd on purpose to statements that FP+ is the worst solution, that is all. People are assigning causation to the FP+ system where none may exist, there is insufficient available facts to support a link.

Sorry but I don't agree at least not for what we like to do. Crowds at Disney have gone up and down over the years we've attended(and since Im in my 50's and have been going since I was a young child I can go way way back .) Never ever ever on slow days did we see lines like we did at the end of Sept on what were not headliners but secondary attractions. People may not want to accept that fp+ caused this but there is no other logical explanation.

 

[lauradis]

Sorry but I don't agree at least not for what we like to do. Crowds at Disney have gone up and down over the years we've attended(and since Im in my 50's and have been going since I was a young child I can go way way back .) Never ever ever on slow days did we see lines like we did at the end of Sept on what were not headliners but secondary attractions. People may not want to accept that fp+ caused this but there is no other logical explanation.

what about pre fp - and fp + the lines where long then, but less crowded, I'm old enough to remember too.

I see the line issue as part of a volume problem, lack of available rides, frozen mania and FP+ seems like a factor too, but you cant blame it all on FP+.

Whats your explanation for the volume increase in 2012 if it was just fp+ problem. Hmmm the eruo was killing the dollar, travel in us was starting to recover.

Lets not forget Disney has been heavy discounting to UK to make up for lack of US travel for last 10+ years.

Basically its not just FP+, that is only a small part of this volume increase problem.

 

[mousehockey37]

Never ever ever on slow days did we see lines like we did at the end of Sept on what were not headliners but secondary attractions. People may not want to accept that fp+ caused this but there is no other logical explanation.

what about pre fp - and fp + the lines where long then, but less crowded, I'm old enough to remember too.

I see the line issue as part of a volume problem, lack of available rides, frozen mania and FP+ seems like a factor too, but you cant blame it all on FP+.
Basically its not just FP+, that is only a small part of this volume increase problem.

Well, with the MNSSHP and F&W going full swing at the end of September, it's going to be busy. Add in now all of this RunDisney stuff with the different runs they have all the time now (it seems) and yes, there's going to be a lot more people. Don't forget in addition to everything I mentioned, they also do room promotions and free dining. So you have to have people in the parks to use FP+, and these events get them there.

 

[lauradis]

Well, with the MNSSHP and F&W going full swing at the end of September, it's going to be busy. Add in now all of this RunDisney stuff with the different runs they have all the time now (it seems) and yes, there's going to be a lot more people. Don't forget in addition to everything I mentioned, they also do room promotions and free dining. So you have to have people in the parks to use FP+, and these events get them there.

Yep f&w has totally messed up my slow time in oct, but I do love the halloween party.

Take the good with the bad.

Like we have any control over this hot mess of FP+, just give it time. I have full faith that Dis board will find all the cheats, loopholes like we always do. Then it will be our choice to not go, buy throw away campsites, buy extra magic bands, make dummy MDE every trip to use old bands to get more FP+, ect ect.

 

[mousehockey37]

Yep f&w has totally messed up my slow time in oct, but I do love the halloween party.

Take the good with the bad.

Like we have any control over this hot mess of FP+, just give it time. I have full faith that Dis board will find all the cheats, loopholes like we always do. Then it will be our choice to not go, buy throw away campsites, buy extra magic bands, make dummy MDE every trip to use old bands to get more FP+, ect ect.

The whole point of FP+ is to try and distribute the crowds. I like to think of MDE and FP+ as RollerCoaster Tycoon, only it's real, not a game.