FP+ "Problems" - I Just Don't Get It

[Love Tink]

The whole point of this thread was encapsulated here:

Now, I'm going to try and be delicate about this, and will probably fail miserably......but I don't get it. I really don't.... is the majority of the FP+ backlash coming from people who just aren't that capable of figuring out the (relatively simple) system...?

Sometimes, people (certain kinds of people) just like to call other people stupid.

Luckily, it is fairly clear from the posts here that many of those who dislike FP+ are anything but stupid, so this sad little comment won't bother anyone.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Do you mean the window actually opening at midnight at 60 days? Someone posted that a CM friend told them that the MDE window opening correlated to the MK's operating hours...when the MK is open later, the window opens later (at 1:00 a.m. vs. midnight) and at least for the days I watched, that theory seemed to hold true. So I don't know if that's a glitch or just SOP that's outside the norm?

You certainly can't deny that MDE has glitches, even if you haven't experienced them. Here's where I'll agree with you...I also believe that when MDE does have a glitch, people freak out and try to correct it immediately instead of waiting to see if it resolves itself, and then it's those actions that are trying to "fix" something that isn't really broken that cause data to really be erased/deleted. I also think that phone CMs don't help the situation, when such guests call and the CMs say the FP+s are gone. I think the CMs are generally flying by the seats of their pants, generally see the same information we do, and generally believe that if something isn't displaying on MDE at a particular time, it means it's "gone," when really it's not gone, but just hidden. This is all my theory, based on my personal experience of disappearing (and then reappearing, without any user input) data on MDE. My attitude is I know what FP+s I made, I make them and generally don't mess with them, write the times into my (low tech) park schedule, and if something doesn't display on MDE...oh well. If a blue Mickey shows up when I'm at the park (hasn't happened yet!), I'll deal with it then, but I'm not going to spend pre-vacation time fretting over a glitchy system.

I think this true to some extent. The website is much more reliable than the app. There were several times that I was unable to see my FP using the app on our last trip. Luckily my DH could always see them through his app. I didn't panic becuase I knew that just because the app had problems didn't mean that I didn't have my FP anymore.

Debbie--That is exactly how we toured the parks this past week. I made my FP+ times for later in the day, so we knew we had the rides we really wanted to do covered. Some days we slept in, and some days we showed up to MK at rope drop so we could ride Space Mountain multiple times in a row. It was great!

I agree with your reasons for disliking old FP too. It was a pain to have to hike over to a ride and then see if the return time worked with the rest of your day or not. IF they had FPs available at all.
I do believe though that there are some who are having major glitches, and that can be no fun at all. Doesn't make them liars though.

Wasn't all of this information available on Disney's app at one point? I seem to remember being able to look this information up before I walked over to any rides. Oddly enough, I never minded being the FP runner for my family, but I found walking around MK to find a a FP kiosk without a long line really annoying.

Not everyone who has a problem is a liar. Aren't you paying attention!! Some people are just incompetent!

That was a joke, of course.....

Hey, do I think there are people out there who exaggerate a minor inconvenience, fabricating a 'problem' that calls the veracity of the system into question? Yes.

Do I think there are people out there who fail to use the system properly and to its best advantages? Yes.

So there are 'liars' and 'incompetents' out there if those are the words that someone wants to assign. However, there are also smart, level headed, objective people out there who have had legitimate problems. I'm glad I haven't had them, yet. Lots of good responses out there as to why some people might have had legit problems while my experiences have been flawless. I thank you all for aiding in my understanding.

Using the system to it's best advantages isn't really straightforward. Remember that trick a PP mentioned about initially choosing the FP times that were opposite of what you really want. How many people really think to do that? I can understand that some people really enjoy picking out their FP ahead of time, but I think that MDE could be set up to make that process easier. I would love to pick a ride and see a list of all the available times.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

While my confusion over how people can have such severe problems securing FP+ reservations is sincere......I am somewhat guilty as charged on the pot stirring front. Hey, I knew I'd fail at being delicate, even warned you. You guys also have some good points regarding availability for off-site guests and such, and that I don't need to 'get it'.

But the entire thread was meant to So, I'm pretty sure that a mea culpa won't be forthcoming.

What is really funny? I actually like the new system. No more sprinting across the park. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have problems. Like having to stay up until midnight or waking up at the crack of dawn.

That would be wrong again, as I did humble myself before the court several pages back. Keep trying though..,.

So, you were stirring the pot, and you admitted to it.

Then you weren't.

Or did you mean when you apologized for being insensitive? Sorry, but still nothing for calling people here liars and morons. Which is the real problem.

Because, hey, I am with you about the endless complaining about FP+. The problem with this thread is that instead of addressing the problems, you figured that since you didn't have any problems, those that did were somehow liars or morons.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Wasn't all of this information available on Disney's app at one point? I seem to remember being able to look this information up before I walked over to any rides.

Since we got smartphones back in 2008 or so, we haven't needed to walk to rides to find out this information.

Disney's Mobile Magic app, I believe, had that information when that app was in use. I think you had to be in the park to see that info (GPS had to recognize you were there), but I'm pretty sure it was offered.

I know for a fact that TouringPlans' Lines app, and the Mousewait apps had that information. Granted, the latter 2 were based on user submitted times, but each listed when the time was last updated and we found them to be accurate enough to use to make the decision to go to a ride or not. The actual time we got when we got to a ride was never far off from what we had read on the app.

 

[jcemom]

Sorry if I'm throwing the topic off subject- but there does appear to be availability released for sdmt in November..

Back to your scheduled programming...

I just wanted to take a minute to pop back into the thread and say THANK YOU! I was finally able to get FP for my SIL and her family for SDMT a week ago or so, but it wasn't at a good time. Of course, we were happy to get anything at all, since I had been trying since midnight of the 60 day mark with no luck.

Thanks to your heads-up, I was able to change her FP to the perfect time to fit their MK day...AND get them another set for their MVMCP day!

 

[famy27]

I posted in one of the FP+ holiday success threads that I'm pretty sure something is going on with FP supply and demand for the last week for December.

It was pretty evident that FP availability for the super-headliners tanked in the August-November timeframe. There were various theories as to why: more users on the system, shorter park hours, or Disney holding back FPs were some ideas mentioned. I personally had more trouble getting prime APs for my Labor Day trip than I did for my June trip. I didn't magically forget how to use MDE in those two months. And I was booking at midnight both times.

Now, suddenly, multiple posters have had no trouble booking A&E at 60 days out (even for five-day trips) during Christmas and New Year's weeks, when people with week-long stays were shut out in September, which is the slowest time of the year.

I did a comparison of park hours, and I'm pretty sure that that can't explain the sudden increase of FP availability. For my five-day Labor Day stay compared to the five-day weekend around Christmas, MK is open 13 more hours in which FPs can be booked (EMH hours don't have FPs, so those must be disregarded). I don't think that's enough to generate so many additional FPs. In addition, every report I've read has been of someone who got an A&E FP for a decent time. If all of the new inventory was from additional park hours, there should be people saying that they could only get FPs for midnight.

The theory that more people were suddenly using the system doesn't hold up, either, now that all of this FP availability is being reported. With the holidays, there should be MORE users on MDE and less FP availability.

Which brings us to the remaining likely options: Disney was holding back FPs in the fall, or Disney dumped a whole bunch of extra FPs in for the holidays (or possibly both).

The problem is the FP+ is entirely an opaque system, so there is no way to know what is really going on. I personally suspect they were holding back FPs in the fall. Not sure if it was some sort of test or why it occurred, but I think that's what happened. I believe they've now restored that held back capacity (and possibly added even more than what was in the system in the early summer). It will be interesting to see how long FP lines are during the holiday weeks. The one possibility that I'm discounting 100% in the FP availability scenarios is the incompetent user.

 

[cakebaker]

I just wanted to take a minute to pop back into the thread and say THANK YOU! I was finally able to get FP for my SIL and her family for SDMT a week ago or so, but it wasn't at a good time. Of course, we were happy to get anything at all, since I had been trying since midnight of the 60 day mark with no luck.

Thanks to your heads-up, I was able to change her FP to the perfect time to fit their MK day...AND get them another set for their MVMCP day!

You're more than welcome, I'm glad to hear it! Seems like there's a lot of people who were able to grab them for next month. Good news!!

 

[elaine amj]

Using the system to it's best advantages isn't really straightforward. Remember that trick a PP mentioned about initially choosing the FP times that were opposite of what you really want. How many people really think to do that? I can understand that some people really enjoy picking out their FP ahead of time, but I think that MDE could be set up to make that process easier. I would love to pick a ride and see a list of all the available times.

I have been studying FP+ forever and read this trick many times. And then in the heat of the moment, I didn't do it. I've struggled to tweak it and now have finally given up. I'm too nervous to lose what I already have and I'm just going to quit fiddling with it. (we'll see if I can resist).

Now back to stalking my elusive Ohana ADR because I didn't plan my trip until about 90 or so day out....

 

[Luckybee]

Yeah, I'm a jerk. I'm stirring the pot some. I'm a bit insensitive to true problems people really have had. Mea culpa! But if I'm admitting that, you can admit their are more than a few dramatic types who had a 'problem' that 'ruined their vacation' and show 'FP+ is a failure', when all they really had was a relatively minor inconvenience. This thread is dedicated to all those people, with my apologies to the rest.

Now, back to jerk mode, and this may be somewhat cold......but a lot of problems ARE user created, which leads to somewhat unwarranted criticism of the system. Sure, maybe we'd prefer that there wasn't even a system, but what's there largely works. If someone knows they can make reservations at midnight, could have gotten what they wanted then, but chooses not to and doesn't get what they wanted the next day/week/month.....that's user failure, not system failure, is it not?

I could spend an hour writing a book about all that is wrong what you've written above but I wont. I will say that your definition and mine of "minor inconvenience" are likely very different. My professional career is spent trouble shooting and dealing with problems anywhere from 60 to 100 hours each and every week. When I go on holidays I do so to not deal with stress, planning, correcting and fixing. If gawd forbid I want to change a dinner reservation which I've made months in advance I don't want to have to spend the next 6 days stalking MDE in order to change a ride or parade and yes that's what we had to do. I don't want an entire days worth of fp's to go missing so that I have to spend an hour at guest relations for them to fix there mistake. I don't want my holiday to be so scheduled that it isn't fun anymore, and I sure as heck don't wish to wait in lines that were non existent before fp+ came along. And I have only listed SOME of the problems we had/found with fp+. We just got back a couple of weeks ago. Our holiday wasn't "ruined" by fp+ but it was so different from previous Disney visits that we are not in any hurry to go back. We had May and Nov planned for Disney visits. Now in May we're still doing Orlando but only Universal prior to 2 weeks on the Panhandle, and for November as of last night we've decided to skip the week in Orlando and go straight to Aruba for 3 weeks.
Simply put, although some of these problems were perception, it didn't work well for us and if dh and I are paying for our holiday no one else is going to tell us what is and isn't a "minor inconvenience" and what is and isn't a deal breaker.
Oh, and on your other point about "user failure", I just had a new program developed for my business that my assistant was having trouble adapting to. I called my IT company and they're coming in to either "make her comfortable or change the program". Had they told me this was user failure I'd be looking for a new IT company. It isn't the "user" that has to adapt but rather the program.

 

[Disneylover99]

I posted in one of the FP+ holiday success threads that I'm pretty sure something is going on with FP supply and demand for the last week for December.

It was pretty evident that FP availability for the super-headliners tanked in the August-November timeframe. There were various theories as to why: more users on the system, shorter park hours, or Disney holding back FPs were some ideas mentioned. I personally had more trouble getting prime APs for my Labor Day trip than I did for my June trip. I didn't magically forget how to use MDE in those two months. And I was booking at midnight both times.

Now, suddenly, multiple posters have had no trouble booking A&E at 60 days out (even for five-day trips) during Christmas and New Year's weeks, when people with week-long stays were shut out in September, which is the slowest time of the year.

I did a comparison of park hours, and I'm pretty sure that that can't explain the sudden increase of FP availability. For my five-day Labor Day stay compared to the five-day weekend around Christmas, MK is open 13 more hours in which FPs can be booked (EMH hours don't have FPs, so those must be disregarded). I don't think that's enough to generate so many additional FPs. In addition, every report I've read has been of someone who got an A&E FP for a decent time. If all of the new inventory was from additional park hours, there should be people saying that they could only get FPs for midnight.

The theory that more people were suddenly using the system doesn't hold up, either, now that all of this FP availability is being reported. With the holidays, there should be MORE users on MDE and less FP availability.

Which brings us to the remaining likely options: Disney was holding back FPs in the fall, or Disney dumped a whole bunch of extra FPs in for the holidays (or possibly both).

The problem is the FP+ is entirely an opaque system, so there is no way to know what is really going on. I personally suspect they were holding back FPs in the fall. Not sure if it was some sort of test or why it occurred, but I think that's what happened. I believe they've now restored that held back capacity (and possibly added even more than what was in the system in the early summer). It will be interesting to see how long FP lines are during the holiday weeks. The one possibility that I'm discounting 100% in the FP availability scenarios is the incompetent user.

Totally agree with your post.

It was much harder to secure FP's for our late August trip then our Christmas trip. Both trips I had 10 days of FP's and I booked at midnight. Last week I booked FP's Dec. 20-30. There was tons of availability at good times for very popular attractions, even on my first day of booking.

Something's up. They must have dumped a whack of extra FP's into the system over the busy Christmas season.

 

[mom2rtk]

Something's up. They must have dumped a whack of extra FP's into the system over the busy Christmas season.

I'm back to my theory that they have not been running some of these attractions (even the really popular ones) at full capacity during what they expect to be lower crowd times.

 

[Disneylover99]

I'm back to my theory that they have not been running some of these attractions (even the really popular ones) at full capacity during what they expect to be lower crowd times.

Either that or maybe the plan is to make the FP lines longer over the holiday season.

 

[floralmouse]

Hey, while I say what I believe and believe what I say, I'm willing to see how far down the rabbit hole goes.......

Curious ... Why? To what end?

 

[ibelieveinmagic]

I logged on at midnight last night for a trip 12/27-1/8, i got everything i wanted, anna and elsa, mine ride, space, soarin, enchanted tales, peter pan etc... at the times i wanted, [mornings] i hope its not some crazy fluke!!

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

I have been studying FP+ forever and read this trick many times. And then in the heat of the moment, I didn't do it. I've struggled to tweak it and now have finally given up. I'm too nervous to lose what I already have and I'm just going to quit fiddling with it. (we'll see if I can resist).

Now back to stalking my elusive Ohana ADR because I didn't plan my trip until about 90 or so day out....

That was my point though. You knew about tricks like this because you have been researching tips. Most families don't.

I posted in one of the FP+ holiday success threads that I'm pretty sure something is going on with FP supply and demand for the last week for December.

It was pretty evident that FP availability for the super-headliners tanked in the August-November timeframe. There were various theories as to why: more users on the system, shorter park hours, or Disney holding back FPs were some ideas mentioned. I personally had more trouble getting prime APs for my Labor Day trip than I did for my June trip. I didn't magically forget how to use MDE in those two months. And I was booking at midnight both times.

Now, suddenly, multiple posters have had no trouble booking A&E at 60 days out (even for five-day trips) during Christmas and New Year's weeks, when people with week-long stays were shut out in September, which is the slowest time of the year.

I did a comparison of park hours, and I'm pretty sure that that can't explain the sudden increase of FP availability. For my five-day Labor Day stay compared to the five-day weekend around Christmas, MK is open 13 more hours in which FPs can be booked (EMH hours don't have FPs, so those must be disregarded). I don't think that's enough to generate so many additional FPs. In addition, every report I've read has been of someone who got an A&E FP for a decent time. If all of the new inventory was from additional park hours, there should be people saying that they could only get FPs for midnight.

The theory that more people were suddenly using the system doesn't hold up, either, now that all of this FP availability is being reported. With the holidays, there should be MORE users on MDE and less FP availability.

Which brings us to the remaining likely options: Disney was holding back FPs in the fall, or Disney dumped a whole bunch of extra FPs in for the holidays (or possibly both).

The problem is the FP+ is entirely an opaque system, so there is no way to know what is really going on. I personally suspect they were holding back FPs in the fall. Not sure if it was some sort of test or why it occurred, but I think that's what happened. I believe they've now restored that held back capacity (and possibly added even more than what was in the system in the early summer). It will be interesting to see how long FP lines are during the holiday weeks. The one possibility that I'm discounting 100% in the FP availability scenarios is the incompetent user.

Personally, I don't like the lack of transparency the FP+ system has.

I'm back to my theory that they have not been running some of these attractions (even the really popular ones) at full capacity during what they expect to be lower crowd times.

It would explain some of the high wait times during October. I know that lots of schools now have a fall break, but I don't think it's as common as Spring Break or Summer Vacation.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Something's up. They must have dumped a whack of extra FP's into the system over the busy Christmas season.

Actually they dumped them for the 3 weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, just prior to the busy season. I said in that thread, I'm starting to convince myself that they are insanely going to conduct one of the FP Only tests, but for 3 weeks, not 3 days.

 

[vinotinto]

I posted in one of the FP+ holiday success threads that I'm pretty sure something is going on with FP supply and demand for the last week for December.

It was pretty evident that FP availability for the super-headliners tanked in the August-November timeframe. There were various theories as to why: more users on the system, shorter park hours, or Disney holding back FPs were some ideas mentioned. I personally had more trouble getting prime APs for my Labor Day trip than I did for my June trip. I didn't magically forget how to use MDE in those two months. And I was booking at midnight both times.

Now, suddenly, multiple posters have had no trouble booking A&E at 60 days out (even for five-day trips) during Christmas and New Year's weeks, when people with week-long stays were shut out in September, which is the slowest time of the year.

I did a comparison of park hours, and I'm pretty sure that that can't explain the sudden increase of FP availability. For my five-day Labor Day stay compared to the five-day weekend around Christmas, MK is open 13 more hours in which FPs can be booked (EMH hours don't have FPs, so those must be disregarded). I don't think that's enough to generate so many additional FPs. In addition, every report I've read has been of someone who got an A&E FP for a decent time. If all of the new inventory was from additional park hours, there should be people saying that they could only get FPs for midnight.

The theory that more people were suddenly using the system doesn't hold up, either, now that all of this FP availability is being reported. With the holidays, there should be MORE users on MDE and less FP availability.

Which brings us to the remaining likely options: Disney was holding back FPs in the fall, or Disney dumped a whole bunch of extra FPs in for the holidays (or possibly both).

The problem is the FP+ is entirely an opaque system, so there is no way to know what is really going on. I personally suspect they were holding back FPs in the fall. Not sure if it was some sort of test or why it occurred, but I think that's what happened. I believe they've now restored that held back capacity (and possibly added even more than what was in the system in the early summer). It will be interesting to see how long FP lines are during the holiday weeks. The one possibility that I'm discounting 100% in the FP availability scenarios is the incompetent user.

That is fascinating! When we went in August-Labor Day weekend, availability was terrible indeed.

I tell you what my biggest problem with this is. It penalizes those of us that may not plan 60 or even 30 days in advance. We live in GA and have taken last minute trips before. Most recently, we booked our Labor Day 2014 trip about 40 days out. Let me tell you, I had to hunt down FP+ for 7DMT, and was lucky and got it, but was unable to get A&E. And we stayed onsite. So, really, when people talk about how FP+ is not conducive to spontaneity, they're not just making stuff up, they are explaining their experiences.

 

[mom2rtk]

Either that or maybe the plan is to make the FP lines longer over the holiday season.

........ which would then make the standby lines that much longer.


I'm happy for anyone who was able to score a 7DMT FP today. But seriously..... I'm sure there were plenty of people who didn't get one 60 days out who will miss this extra release. Planning a visit to a theme park should not require staying "plugged in" every day for 60 days prior to your trip.

 

[Boo Bear]

Another FP thread encouraging people to debate the merits. I just don't get that. I really don't. How much can these threads really vary?

Exactly. I'm sick of reading about it. This is my first comment on the topic. Probably will be my last.

 

[Disneylover99]

........ which would then make the standby lines that much longer.

Or maybe not, if they left the FP/standby ratios the same.

It would just mean longer FP lines. And maybe Disney figures people won't mind this as much at Christmas, because everyone knows what a busy time this is, and if people are at least getting A&E and 7 Dwarves FP's at decent times, then they won't mind the longer wait.