FP+ Skeptic - My Recent Experience

[wisblue]

Considering those people were pulling standard FP, it will be exactly the same experience IMO. The current FP- allotment will now be transferred over to FP+. Offsite guests only being able to book same day will still have whatever is leftover after the onside/AP holders have made their picks.

I just don't see that anything will majorly change in terms of availability for times once the 2 remaining parks are rolled in.

Not only that, but many onsite guests also had access to paper FP with their KTTW cards and had the opportunity to "double dip". There were also the folks who knew that they could use a lot of other old cards to pull FPs from the machines. While the number of folks who knew about that, and were brash enough to take advantage of it, was probably pretty small, that was another drain on the supply.

It is possible that the overall demand on the FP system will never again be as great as it was over this last Christmas season. As long as the limit of 3 per person stays in place, the same day supply at MK should be pretty good. Once the mine train opens, if they offer FPs for that, the demand for that will be so great that it will open up even more availability for everything else.

 

[bcrook]

I think if they address those three elements FP+ would be received much more positively.

Those issues will be addressed as soon as Disney builds Pixar and Star Wars land in the studios, finish Pandora in the AK, and add three to four quality attractions in Epcot. 2025?

 

[bbutler100]

Will be very interesting to see how lines react to legacy FP disappearing

 

[bcrook]

Will be very interesting to see how lines react to legacy FP disappearing

Don't forget, the PR machine has not cranked up yet. By summer, FP+ should be all the rage and a tough ticket to get if you are an off site guest.

 

[pharaoh]

I just got home from my trip this week and FP+ worked fine for me. As a disclaimer, I was traveling solo, and knew in advance what parks I would be in on which days based on crowd recommendations.

I didn't plan out my FP+ 60 days in advance. I think I booked them the week before last, so maybe 10 days in advance. I didn't have any trouble getting "decent" times and was able to plan my days around my choices very easily based on what my needs were for each day. For example, in MK I knew I would be spending the entire day there, so I spaced my FP+ choices far apart so I could take my time through each "land" without having to run back and forth across the park 5 times. I did the opposite with Epcot -- I booked my FP+ choices all in the first 2 hours of my day so I could have the rest of the day to roam around WS. Worked very well for me, but I'm sure it was easy because of the low crowds.

I was also able to make changes to my FP+ choices not only the day of, but the hour of. On one night I had a FP+ for Big Thunder at 5:55PM and around 6:30PM I decided I didn't want to ride it, so using the MDE app I was able to change it to Enchanted Tales with Belle for 6:55PM. Worked perfectly for me, thankfully! I was very nervous because of all the trouble other posters have been experiencing.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm glad to read that so many were able to get FP+ late and even change them around. I hope to see the same reports once offsite visitors are all added in.

 

[Laketravis]

Those issues will be addressed as soon as Disney builds Pixar and Star Wars land in the studios, finish Pandora in the AK, and add three to four quality attractions in Epcot. 2025?

Maybe. Seems the only construction projects that currently get the full steam ahead rapid treatment are those that have "DVC" in the description.

 

[larryz]

Maybe. Seems the only construction projects that currently get the full steam ahead rapid treatment are those that have "DVC" in the description.

I've been anticipating "DVC Saturation Point," where the combination of regular and DVC guests will hit 70% of daily park capacity. I think when that happens, all the off-site folks might as well just plan on visiting Sea World and Universal, because their WDW experience will truly be inferior to those staying on-site.

 

[staceyeileen]

I really think that if there were no limit of 3 FP+ per day people would love the new system and see it as an improvement on over the old system.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I really think that if there were no limit of 3 FP+ per day people would love the new system and see it as an improvement on over the old system.

Yes, that is a major sticking point. That, and being able to use fp+ on the same attraction multiple times. But that isn't what Disney has chosen to do, and people are responding accordingly.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I have posted a few times in recent months about my concerns surrounding FP+ and its implementation. I have just returned from WDW - 7 days, 8 nights. My wife and I are both very spontaneous people, and we had very real concerns about our ability to book FP+ the morning of, or night before, each park day. I think that those who read those posts deserve to hear how my trip went:

First - We booked no FP+ reservations before our trip. We had no idea how many days, or what days, we would be in the parks - much less which specific park we would choose to visit on any particular date.

When we arrived we booked FP+ reservations for the following day, but it was very cold and we decided not to go to the parks. Late that night we went to the concierge desk as we were having problems booking FP+ reservations for the next day on-line. The CM was very helpful and booked our 3 rides of choice at the times of our choice in MK for the following afternoon.

During the following 7 days, we visited the parks on 5 total days. We didn't book FP+ reservations until the morning of each day before we left our room for the parks. We were always able to get the rides of our choice at the times of our choice. This let us sleep in and allowed us to have a very spontaneous trip.

I am still annoyed that we cannot book more than 3 FP+/day, that the rides are tiered, and that we cannot book "hopping" FP+ reservations - but this worked out well enough for my wife and I. It will not effect our decision to book future trips. Over all, we had a very pleasant trip.

Thank you for your report! I truly hope that this system remains as flexible as you found it to be.

Don't forget, the PR machine has not cranked up yet. By summer, FP+ should be all the rage and a tough ticket to get if you are an off site guest.

This is a large part of my concern...that once all offsite guests are on FP+, the availability will not be as flexible. Disney's stated somewhere (according to a post on here somewhere) that they want 90% of guests using FP+...up from the 40% that used FP. If their PR machine is able to get usage up to that 90% I have a very hard time seeing how there will be much FP+ inventory to move times around during the day (at least, during the peak hours of the day. I'm sure there will be some availability, but my concern is that it will be for the hours of the day that we already wouldn't be getting FP+ for because it doesn't work with our schedule.

 

[danielle782001]

The reports we're getting now are encouraging, as they are from low crowd times and we will be going at a low crowd time later this year. Like many others, NOT happy about the limit of 3 or the tiering, or the inability to use FP in more than one park (we won't be wasting money on hoppers this trip), but if I there are actual real choices left day-of to change our FP to then that will ease some of my frustration.

You you please explain "tiering"?

I have one other question....can we still use traditional FP?

I have not had an opportunity to read about it...been very busy with life....but getting ready to make my touring plans for our summer trip.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

You you please explain "tiering"?

I have one other question....can we still use traditional FP?

I have not had an opportunity to read about it...been very busy with life....but getting ready to make my touring plans for our summer trip.

1: Tiering: Epcot and DHS have tiers so you can only pick 1 attraction from tier 1 and the other 2 from Tier 2. It is ok for us at DHS because we aren't thrill ride folks, but it means that you can't get both TSMM and RnRR. At Epcot, the problem is that you can't get both TT and Soarin.

2. Regular FP has been removed from AK and MK. It is leaving DHS and EP shortly, I think in the next week or two.

 

[mesaboy2]

1: Tiering: Epcot and DHS have tiers so you can only pick 1 attraction from tier 1 and the other 2 from Tier 2. It is ok for us at DHS because we aren't thrill ride folks, but it means that you can't get both TSMM and RnRR. At Epcot, the problem is that you can't get both TT and Soarin. 2. Regular FP has been removed from AK and MK. It is leaving DHS and EP shortly, I think in the next week or two.

Even more info like this can be found via the green link in my signature.

 

[danielle782001]

Even more info like this can be found via the green link in my signature.

Thank you

 

[disney1990]

I have posted a few times in recent months about my concerns surrounding FP+ and its implementation. I have just returned from WDW - 7 days, 8 nights. My wife and I are both very spontaneous people, and we had very real concerns about our ability to book FP+ the morning of, or night before, each park day. I think that those who read those posts deserve to hear how my trip went:

First - We booked no FP+ reservations before our trip. We had no idea how many days, or what days, we would be in the parks - much less which specific park we would choose to visit on any particular date.

When we arrived we booked FP+ reservations for the following day, but it was very cold and we decided not to go to the parks. Late that night we went to the concierge desk as we were having problems booking FP+ reservations for the next day on-line. The CM was very helpful and booked our 3 rides of choice at the times of our choice in MK for the following afternoon.

During the following 7 days, we visited the parks on 5 total days. We didn't book FP+ reservations until the morning of each day before we left our room for the parks. We were always able to get the rides of our choice at the times of our choice. This let us sleep in and allowed us to have a very spontaneous trip.

I am still annoyed that we cannot book more than 3 FP+/day, that the rides are tiered, and that we cannot book "hopping" FP+ reservations - but this worked out well enough for my wife and I. It will not effect our decision to book future trips. Over all, we had a very pleasant trip.

I would not expect it to be a problem to book FP+ the morning of right now. However, my biggest concern is summer and holiday weeks. I am afraid all of the major attractions will be gone before the parks ever open each day.

 

[Merrill29]

There is a reason why they are rolling out FP+ right now, overall it is one of the slowest times of the year. This means that they will hopefully address the "bugs" in the system before reaching the busier times of the year. Like anything else, I am sure that any enhancements will be rolled out in phases, but give them a chance.

My wife and I are going in a mere 13 days and can not wait. We really like being able to book ahead for FP+ so that way we know we have certain things planned without a long wait. Not everyone is inclined to show up at RD, and race around a park to get as many legacy FP as they can. We are there on VACATION from jobs that are very consuming, and the idea of having to race around the parks just does not suit us.

People abused the old system, that has been documented here. Like others have said this is what may have been the impetus for this change. As an example, take a family who is staying on site at a resort. We all know that you pay a "premium" for doing so. What if said family was getting shut out of being able to enjoy the attractions they wanted to because of people "working the system". If you are paying $300-$500 per night you are going to expect to be able to enjoy the attractions in the park that you are paying for with your park admission as well. If enough resort managers have gotten their back sides chewed out by guests who paid top dollar and got shut out by folks abusing the system, of course it is going to change.

Our biggest disappointment so far is the lack of being able to "hop" with passes, and do 3 early day at one park and get more in the evening at another park. Especially when you are touting EMH at a park, it would be nice if you plan a "long day". That will be worked out in time, and meanwhile we are going to enjoy the fact that it is a low crowd time and leverage that to our advantage.

Make the most of it folks. What is wrong will be addressed and what is bad will get better. Give it a little bit of time. All I think Disney is trying to do is "level the playing field" a bit away from the abusers and ensure that everyone is able to have a good time.

 

[mesaboy2]

When I "made the most of" Legacy FP, apparently that was abuse and working the system. Everyone had the same opportunity.

 

[MinniesYooHoo]

I am glad to hear it! The system at present is still only half deployed though. The real question is what it is all like after the 23rd of this month.

OK. Obviously I'm out of the loop. What's supposed to happen on the 23rd?!?!

 

[mesaboy2]

OK. Obviously I'm out of the loop. What's supposed to happen on the 23rd?!?!

The fourth and last park goes FP+ only.