FP+ I for one liked it

[supergoofy]

It could be great if onsite.

Now what about us offsite folks?

We still have to run to the rides.

And like said we can only get 1 per ride per day.


Have yet to test it out but right now I am not liking it.

 

[mom2rtk]

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...

But many people don't want to slow down, for whatever reason. I stay at a value resort for the express purpose of spending all my time in the parks. If I want to sit by a pool and relax, I'll go to a beach.

We are lucky to visit for a week once a year. I can sleep when I get home. I want to ride and do things in the parks when I'm at Disney.

I just wish everyone would understand and accept that it is OK for people to enjoy the park in different ways, dependent upon many factors including 1) your family makeup 2) how often you go 3) your touring style 4) what you value most in a vacation 5) what it takes for you to get "value" from a Disney vacation ...... plus a few hundred more.

It's no better for you to tell me to slow down and take it all in than it is for me to tell you to hurry up and get to the parks every morning. You probably wouldn't enjoy my style any more than I would enjoy yours. Which is why we don't vacation together.

 

[JimmyMartin]

In the opening post she states that she had to run all over the park to get fast passes before the new system started. That would not be true if she was satisfied with only 3 FP’s in a day. She neglects to mention what wait times were and what rides they do not like or do not do. The biggest problem with this system is for people who have never been. No idea of attractions or likes, how long the FP+ wait line will be, or park layout. Maps are fine but we all know you still have to have some idea of layout to have a plan.

 

[plutoloversmom]

In the opening post she states that she had to run all over the park to get fast passes before the new system started. That would not be true if she was satisfied with only 3 FP’s in a day. She neglects to mention what wait times were and what rides they do not like or do not do. The biggest problem with this system is for people who have never been. No idea of attractions or likes, how long the FP+ wait line will be, or park layout. Maps are fine but we all know you still have to have some idea of layout to have a plan.

What I was attempting to say was that before FP+, there was a mad dash at the beginning of every day. People would line up at rope drop and run for rides such as TSM and the mountains. Then by the time we wandered over because my family likes to look and see things there would be no FP left for the day and standby would be 120 min long. So in order to get on rides we soon learned to hurry to rides we wanted to try early so that we might get to go on them. With FP+ we don't have that issue. I believe that this is what Disney is trying to do, even the playing field so to speak.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I used it in the beginning of December and loved it. The system is constantly being tweaked and will only get better.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

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.

False.

The app has been updated numerous times to include things like changing times of FP+s, canceling FP+s, the amount of FP+s you can get (four was the original number as noted in this article from September, 2012), etc.

Similarly, MagicBands have been rolled out and tied with park/resort media and FP+ only recently.

It won't come as a surprise when FP+ and park hopping work together. I believe that will be the next adjustment made.

 

[mom2rtk]

False.

The app has been updated numerous times to include things like changing times of FP+s, canceling FP+s, the amount of FP+s you can get (noted in this article from September, 2012), etc.

Similarly, MagicBands have been rolled out and tied with park/resort media and FP+ only recently.

It won't come as a surprise when FP+ and park hopping work together. I believe that will be the next adjustment made.

I think he meant that none of the basic components that people feel so strongly about have changed.


As for hopping, that clearly needs to happen, but it will be interesting to see how they accomplish that without defeating the very real capacity concerns behind the implementation of tiers.

 

[Laketravis]

False.

Not false at all. I was speaking solely of FP+

Not Magic Bands, not the lame app, not the website.

FP+

And the only thing that has changed with:

FP+

Since last summer has been the addition of:

Tiers.

Because last summer, FP+ was:

Limited to one park
Limited to three
Limited to one per attraction

Then, since last summer, came:

Tiers.

True.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I think he meant that none of the basic components that people feel so strongly about have changed.


As for hopping, that clearly needs to happen, but it will be interesting to see how they accomplish that without defeating the very real capacity concerns behind the implementation of tiers.

It's my understanding that park hopping has not been added to the system because they couldn't get the technology right. Shocking, I know.

Sure this is rumor, but it comes from a very good source. I also heard that it is coming soon. There's no way Disney is going to lose money on the park hopper option of ticket media.

 

[surferdave]

Travis, she's right that they reduced the number of FP+ you can get from 4 to 3 (at least in MK). So they've got that going for them.

 

[mom2rtk]

It's my understanding that park hopping has not been added to the system because they couldn't get the technology right. Shocking, I know.

Sure this is rumor, but it comes from a very good source. I also heard that it is coming soon. There's no way Disney is going to lose money on the park hopper option of ticket media.

I'm sorry. You'll never get anyone to believe that rumor.

Travis, she's right that they reduced the number of FP+ you can get from 4 to 3 (at least in MK). So they've got that going for them.

That's quite an enhancement.

 

[Laketravis]

Travis, she's right that they reduced the number of FP+ you can get from 4 to 3 (at least in MK). So they've got that going for them.

Not in the context of my statement. Last summer, the limit was 3. Had been for a long time. It hadn't been 4 since 2012.

 

[Laketravis]

The fact remains, despite posts of rapid changes and fluid implementation and who knows what the future holds, the past has been relatively slow and stable.

Since mid summer 2013, these fundamental components that are the subject of much debate have not changed:

1. One park per day
2. Limit 3
3. No duplicates

Then, in 4Q13:

4. Tiers

The audience was expanded to onsite guests in the last 45 days. The app has been "updated" to minimize latency issues but the basic functionality has not changed since last summer.

But those four basic components have not changed.

Hardly a rapid pace of development. No "tweaking". No loosening of restrictions or increases in allotments.

 

[Laketravis]

Consider as well in the last 8 months there have been:

• No less than 32 million individual park admissions
  
• No less than 48 million individual FP+ reservations (assuming 50% utilization)
  
• No less than 42 million individual POS transactions (assuming 2 per day per adult)
  
• No less than 5 million RFID room unlocks (assuming 80% occupancy and 1 unlock per day)

That is more than a sufficient amount data points to trend, quantify, extrapolate, and forecast.

The "tweaking" was completed a long time ago.

 

[Shaden]

What I was attempting to say was that before FP+, there was a mad dash at the beginning of every day. People would line up at rope drop and run for rides such as TSM and the mountains. Then by the time we wandered over because my family likes to look and see things there would be no FP left for the day and standby would be 120 min long. So in order to get on rides we soon learned to hurry to rides we wanted to try early so that we might get to go on them. With FP+ we don't have that issue. I believe that this is what Disney is trying to do, even the playing field so to speak.

I really don't ever believe this. If you wanted over, even to TSMM, for FP from RD, there would be FPs left. Unless like 12000 people literally walked over there before you, in which case, WDW would have much bigger issues.

We only RD a few days per trip, and we never had any problems getting FPs for the attractions we want.

We didn't RUN for the FPs we wanted, we didn't crisscross the park as people suggest, we walked by rides, if we wanted to ride them and the SB was too long, we grabbed an FP and came back later. Yet we still managed to ride all the headliners, some more than once, and never stand in a line more than 20 mins. Well once we stood in line for 40 mins for EE, but the line SAID 20 mins when we entered it.

I used it in the beginning of December and loved it. The system is constantly being tweaked and will only get better.

Or the system could get worse ? Remember, that whole fan site thing I was talking about ? LOL.

 

[famy27]

We were there in October as well. We also liked some aspects of FP"+" enough to get our first ever APs. Then, a week after we got home, tiering went into place. All bets were off.

I pulled up one of my posts from my spring break 2012 trip. I think we made RD a grand total of once, and we managed to ride every headliner with FPs. I forgot that we rode TSMM twice with FPs on the same day. I am mostly okay with 3 FPs (sufficient for everything but MK), and I don't have huge issues with not being able to re-ride. However, the no hopping and/or the tiers have to go. Without the tiers, I could deal with no hopping. If there were hopping, I could (almost) tolerate the tiers. As it stands, I will now have to make it before RD, or we'll be missing some headliners. And it makes me ornery, since FP"+" was supposed to allow you to sleep in.

I did love having FPs for Soarin, TT, and MS on arrival night. We got to EP that day at 5:30 and rode headliners with no wait. Fantastic. We loved not having to do the TSMM RD hustle or to have a designated FP runner. We also had great luck changing times around once we were in the parks (for everything but TSMM).

So, in October, for us, the positives of the new system outweighed the negatives. Now, not so much. I am spending a ridiculous amount of time here, because I want to figure out the best ways to manage our June trip. We are still going, and we are still going to have a great time, but I need to have realistic expectations.

I am most interested to see posts from guests from now going forward. I want to see real world examples from families (not necessarily from professional bloggers) who've used the system under the restrictions of tiering and with the additional load of all the offsiters using the system as well.

These conditions will likely be drastically different from what I encountered in October. I can tell that moving FPs same day is not what it was in October. I check MDE frequently, and I've seen no availability for MS, ToT, Soarin', TT, and even Space Mtn as of mid-afternoon. In October, we could have made FPs for any of those well into the afternoon, but we were only competing with other resort guests at that time.

I do look at both positive and negative reports. I want to see what is and isn't working for everyone. I love hearing the rumors that hopping may be available. I hope that really does come true. But I do see what the "big deal" is for some people, especially for offsiters with spring break trips planned.

 

[Laketravis]

These conditions will likely be drastically different from what I encountered in October. I can tell that moving FPs same day is not what it was in October. I check MDE frequently, and I've seen no availability for MS, ToT, Soarin', TT, and even Space Mtn as of mid-afternoon. In October, we could have made FPs for any of those well into the afternoon, but we were only competing with other resort guests at that time.

Very astute (and I believe accurate) observation.

 

[disney1990]

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.

That's great for you. But I'm not willing to pay $100 to go to MK and Have only 3 FP+. Nor will I continue to recommend to my friends that Disney is a great place to go because a lot of them stay off site.

In addition, we have numerous friends that live in the Orlando area. We can no longer plan to play in the parks together because they have to wait to same day to get their FP+.

 

[Shaden]

That's great for you. But I'm not willing to pay $100 to go to MK and Have only 3 FP+. Nor will I continue to recommend to my friends that Disney is a great place to go because a lot of them stay off site.

In addition, we have numerous friends that live in the Orlando area. We can no longer plan to play in the parks together because they have to wait to same day to get their FP+.

Couldn't agree more, hopefully for our trip in early May, this wont effect our enjoyment too much, but we will very much notice if it does, the difference will be clear as day, and Disney will know, one way or the other.