FP+ I for one liked it

[Laketravis]

FWIW..... I think you're being overly generous putting that in the "improvements" column.

LOL!

My point is people say that we don't know what it's going to turn out to be, that it changes all the time and quickly, the parts nobody likes are only temporary and part of a test, but the fact is that FP+ is literally the same as it was last summer. The only thing that has changed has been the addition of tiering.

 

[karenklo]

WE loved it too! We landed at noon on 12/30 and had FP+ already in place to ride TSM that night! In the FP- days that would have never happened!! WHile I understand MB have not worked for all, they did work for us. I hope that they get the system smooth for everyone ASAP! I dislike the tiering idea even though ours were made pre-tier. Now have to do 2 EP days or RD at least one day there. I am sure it will continue to evolve. hopefully for the better!

 

[WeCantWait]

I'm going back The last week of April so I will see if it is more difficult. I was just saying that it worked well for us the first time. Hopefully the next trip will be just as well.

I'm glad it worked well for you, and hope it does in April as well. Enjoy!

 

[mom2rtk]

WE loved it too! We landed at noon on 12/30 and had FP+ already in place to ride TSM that night! In the FP- days that would have never happened!! WHile I understand MB have not worked for all, they did work for us. I hope that they get the system smooth for everyone ASAP! I dislike the tiering idea even though ours were made pre-tier. Now have to do 2 EP days or RD at least one day there. I am sure it will continue to evolve. hopefully for the better!

Even this FP+ hater can see the value of having FP+ for arrival day. For the occasional weekend visitor, it would add value to what was previously a lost day for many.

But since we typically stay for 10 days, it's just not a tradeoff I find worthwhile on balance. Just another situation where it depends on your own personal touring style.

 

[Laketravis]

Even this FP+ hater can see the value of having FP+ for arrival day. For the occasional weekend visitor, it would add value to what was previously a lost day for many.

That is definitely an advantage of FP+

Three attractions can be reserved and used in the span of 90 minutes. So the net effect is you can spend MUCH LESS time in the park and make it productive.

Maybe Disney's real goal is to turnover as many guests in the park each day as possible - not to get them to stay longer, but to leave quicker and make room for more!

"You've locked in your three choices. Now go use them and GET OUT!"

Oh, those Disney bean counters. They're so smart.

 

[WeCantWait]

Worked great for us in Oct/Nov...Hoping to have the same experience when we arrive in early March! We are touring much differently lately...older kids that like to sleep in teamed with the ability to make FP+ reservations in the early afternoon suits OUR new touring style. May not work for everyone as in the past...but...don't shoot the messenger!

I also have older kids who enjoy sleeping in. They also like to ride all of the headliners. That will not be possible in the summer with tiered Fastpass+.

 

[mom2rtk]

Oh, those Disney bean counters. They're so smart.

Well, the jury is still out on that one.

 

[prudence64]

I anticipate it will work well for us - we don't go with the expectation that we will see everything. We like to be more casual and not spend as many hours at the parks as most people on these boards.

 

[Laketravis]

I anticipate it will work well for us - we don't go with the expectation that we will see everything. We like to be more casual and not spend as many hours at the parks as most people on these boards.

I think it will work perfectly for you. You can reserve in advance three things to do, make a few edits to your selections to get the times just right and maybe even back-to-back, get into the park and do them in a short period of time, then leave and go do other things.

It's really great for that.

 

[prudence64]

The thing I'm worried about is connecting it to someone not on the same travel itinery as we are, but hopeful we'll figure it out.

 

[magicbob]

LOL!

My point is people say that we don't know what it's going to turn out to be, that it changes all the time and quickly, the parts nobody likes are only temporary and part of a test, but the fact is that FP+ is literally the same as it was last summer. The only thing that has changed has been the addition of tiering.

And let us not forget how many people here admonished some of us for spreading this "rumor"... insisting that tiering would never happen!

Oh, those Disney bean counters. They're so smart.

The only problem is that they are now counting the "magic beans" that a 20-something IT guy traded them for their cash cow.

 

[Anonomom]

We've done two trips with FP+; one in December (and lower crowds) and one over the MLK weekend. We had good experiences both times. I was actually very surprised at how well it worked this past weekend -- the app was reasonably fast and I didn't run into glitches, we never had a problem or delay at the scanners and I was able to make FPs for the rides/times I wanted at almost the last minute. I know others have had different experiences, but I was really happy.

My kids are all still pretty young (8, 4 and 2), so we usually spend only 4-6 hours in the park at a time and have never tried to do every ride/attraction. For the way we tour, FP+ works quite well. We actually did more this past trip than we ever had before. For us, the combination of RD and FP+ is a powerful one. I'd imagine it's be similarly useful for someone on a similar, but flipped, touring schedule -- the late-nighters that close the parks.

 

[jeneric997]

My kids are all still pretty young (8, 4 and 2), so we usually spend only 4-6 hours in the park at a time and have never tried to do every ride/attraction.

Did you use any FP+ on roller coasters and used baby swap? Just wondering how Disney is handling this.

 

[lisalis]

We stayed at Pop the first week in December. We had 5 days in the parks. Luckily, I made our reservations before they tiered EPCOT. We made our Fastpasses for the afternoons and tried to arrive at RD. It worked great everywhere except MK. We spent our extra day there. It would have been highly disappointing to only have one day there. By 11, the lines were 40+ minutes on any of the attractions our kids wanted to go on. With the Fastpass+, we couldn't do it justice in one day- and our kids don't even want to meet characters. If we had 7 - 10 days, it would be great! We definitely didn't do near as much this trip as we had in the past, but we didn't make a big deal of it and our kids didn't notice. We actually spent time at Tom Sawyer's island while waiting for our Fastpass time, which we hadn't done before. Our youngest also did that treasure map hunt thing. I would have rather done EPCOT a 2nd day, but the kids had things they wanted to do at MK.

 

[Robo]

baby swap? Just wondering how Disney is handling this.

Works like before.

 

[Anonomom]

Did you use any FP+ on roller coasters and used baby swap? Just wondering how Disney is handling this.

We used rider swap on Star Tours, both as SB and with FP+. Both times, we asked for rider swap and they gave us a little ticket good for three people to come back and ride, entering through the FP line. When we used our FPs, I actually never ended up scanning my band for the post-swap ride -- DH and DDs scanned theirs the first time they rode but DDs and I just showed the card when I rode. So the kids got two rides using one FP; DH and I got to ride once each.

I actually asked the CM at the FP line how it would work, since we returned right near the end of our FP window and I'd have been outside that window if I'd have had to scan my FP for that post-swap ride. Since we just had to show that ticket, the FP wasn't necessary. The kids did need to scan their FPs the first time they rode, so we couldn't really have used my FP to, for instance, have them ride RnR with me and therefore get around tiering. If you're a couple traveling with only children too small to ride, then rider swap could act as a bonus FP, I think.

 

[DaisyNY]

Just maybe this will force all of us to relax and enjoy all that Disney has to offer...We have been crazy touring people in the past...wanting to get on all rides, etc...and all our kids wanted to do after a few hours in the park was to sit in the pool...

And perhaps my view is jaded after so many visits...been there, saw that, let's sit by the pool for a bit...enjoy a late breakfast at the resort and relax...we use to joke, that we were always so tired after a Disney vacation! Always on the go...trying to take it all in...(I do have to add that we are now DVC members, as of December, 2013 and will have the opportunity to visit one-two times a year)

Just a thought...I'm sure I am in the minority but just seeing your child interact with a character in the parks is amazing...and the parks overall are beautiful and need to be enjoyed!

PS...
FP+ is still being developed...let's see where things go from here...

 

[jeneric997]

Thanks to both of you for your replies. I keep reading threads where people are confused about whether they should all FP+ a ride that they will baby swap and it sounds like they shouldn't do that. With the right numbers and switching a band, it could equal extra FP+.

 

[Vincent405]

It was not good at all for us. We rode many less rides and I hated the scheduling aspects. I agree with the OP, they don't understand.

 

[shalom]

Disney could have been a lot more transparent with this whole process. It gives me the impression that they don't really know where they are going with this yet.

Disney has long been dismal about that sort of communication, though. I don't know if it's that they don't know what they're doing or if it's that they just want to present a "rose colored glasses" view of reality, but as long as I've been paying attention, they have been a long ways from transparent when it comes to a lot of things about the parks. In that sense, it's business as usual.

But maybe I was just more cynical about Disney from the git go. I think the first WDW guide I ever read said to just call them back if you don't like your first quote, and you'll probably get another one, and I quickly learned that I'd get a lot more info from various fannish websites than I ever could from Disney's own, so I just don't expect them to be helpful that way.

the fact is that FP+ is literally the same as it was last summer. The only thing that has changed has been the addition of tiering.

I would argue that the loss of double dipping is a big change, which happened within that time frame. So long as both systems were in play, what people were reviewing had little to do with what FP+ would eventually look like. The fact that a lot more people are using it is also a change, IMHO. When the potential pool of people pulling the FP+ options was proportionately tiny, there was no way to guess what kind of impact it would have on stand-by lines; we're getting closer to useful data on that front. It may be that Disney will continue to fiddle with things ("Let's add another 10000 FPs to this attraction today!") indefinitely, and predictability will be gone entirely.

Although I'm guessing not.