FP+ Success without planning 60 days out...

[PAGAS]

Well, I had planned 60 days out, but today's weather threw a wrench in those plans. We had planned on Epcot today and had early FPs booked for Test Track, Mission Space and Spaceship Earth. Woke up this morning to pouring rain, realized Test Track would probably be down and decided to switch up our plans to the MK for the afternoon instead, since the weather was supposed to improve. At 8 am or so, I was able to book BTMRR, Splash and Festival of Fantasy FPs, all at very desirable mid afternoon times. When we arrived to the MK around lunch, Splash had a short wait, so we rode it standby and swapped that FP for Haunted Mansion in 20 minutes time. After the parade, we headed to Epcot, booked our 4th FP, Maelstrom, since TT and Soarin showed unavailable at the time (around 4:30p.) TT had been down most of the day and the wait was 135 minutes. We walked over to Imagination, I checked my app and a 7:15 p TT FP opened up. I traded out the Maelstrom FP for it and we were set for the evening.

I went into this trip extremely skeptical of FP+. I am pleasantly surprised by all the system can do and the flexibility it does provide. There are some issues, but overall I think it is an acceptable replacement for legacy FP. We split trips to DLR and WDW, so I can still go back to the old system whenever I want. And for the first time, I think I can say I prefer FP+. I am shocked!

 

[brielise]

My last trip, I complained about FP+ non-stop but I was going on a CMs pass so we couldn't book in advance and had to wait in line at a kiosk. But actually booking the FP+ I have to say I prefer it so far. I may not like planning every detail of my day, but if we don't use the FP it's not the end of the world. We hated running to get FP- and usually only used 1 or 2 a day. And had to wait several years to ride TSMM at HS because it was out of FP-. Now we already have our SDMT FP+!

I think there's definitely some things that need to be worked out, but I also think Disney is working on it. While it's definitely not perfect (what is??), it seems like it is an improvement from FP-.

 

[MichiganDVC]

Well, I had planned 60 days out, but today's weather threw a wrench in those plans. We had planned on Epcot today and had early FPs booked for Test Track, Mission Space and Spaceship Earth. Woke up this morning to pouring rain, realized Test Track would probably be down and decided to switch up our plans to the MK for the afternoon instead, since the weather was supposed to improve. At 8 am or so, I was able to book BTMRR, Splash and Festival of Fantasy FPs, all at very desirable mid afternoon times. When we arrived to the MK around lunch, Splash had a short wait, so we rode it standby and swapped that FP for Haunted Mansion in 20 minutes time. After the parade, we headed to Epcot, booked our 4th FP, Maelstrom, since TT and Soarin showed unavailable at the time (around 4:30p.) TT had been down most of the day and the wait was 135 minutes. We walked over to Imagination, I checked my app and a 7:15 p TT FP opened up. I traded out the Maelstrom FP for it and we were set for the evening. I went into this trip extremely skeptical of FP+. I am pleasantly surprised by all the system can do and the flexibility it does provide. There are some issues, but overall I think it is an acceptable replacement for legacy FP. We split trips to DLR and WDW, so I can still go back to the old system whenever I want. And for the first time, I think I can say I prefer FP+. I am shocked!

I have no words...

You have personally defied all the logic of the naysayers on these here boards.

You had a good FP+ experience amid crappy weather and FP+ changes.

Still in disbelief.

 

[amg35]

Thanks so much for all your reports!!

 

[Marilou]

Yes yes yes...... thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

Its great to see detailed reports rather than the typical "We love FP+ soooo much" VS the other camp "I hate FP+ and am never going to WDW again" arguments.

I know we're going at a busier time but I have hope that our gameplan will keep the magic flowing non-stop.

 

[appleorchard]

We're also here now and have changed FPs numerous times due to the weather and moving our plans around because of it. What I've found is that the FP+ options change right after the parks open in the morning. There might be very few choices the day or night before or even the morning of, until 9 am. Then more times appear.

What we haven't had good luck with yet is getting the FPs we want in a second park, but only because we're looking for the headliners and we don't get to the second park until after dinner. Of course, we never would have been able to get a FP for those attractions under the old system either. If they ever change the system so you can book your 4th FP on your phone rather than from the kiosk, I think we'll be able to to do it with no problem.

Today, the sun is shining! I can' hardly believe it! Of course, we leave tomorrow lol.

 

[wisblue]

Here's another thing that I find ironic.

For all of the angst about the temporary crash of the FP+ system on Friday, none of the detractors seem to be thinking about the chaos that the system is preventing.

The cyber stampede on Friday proves that there is huge demand to get that first ride on the newest attraction. It would have been astounding if that kind of demand hadn't brought down the system. For a system to have the capacity to handle that kind of exceptional volume would require it to have capacity that would be wasted over 99% of the time. Did you ever try to log on to buy tickets to a popular concert the minute they first become available?

Compare what happened on Friday to what would be happening under the old paper FP system. The old way, there would be a crush of people stacked up at the gates pressing to get to the attraction to either get on the ride before the standby line got too long or to claim a FP to ride it later in the day. And those FPs would be gone within an hour after the park opened.

Sure, there will still be a rush to the attraction at park opening for the foreseeable future, just like there still is at TSMM. But, there will be literally thousands of guests every day who will not have to participate in those mad dashes because they will have their spots on the ride arranged weeks in advance. That will make those dashes much less populated, and therefore, less physically dangerous. That sounds to me like a good thing.

And here's the ultimate irony. The people who are the biggest complainers about FP+ say that the paper FP system was fairer because it rewarded people who did their research and planned ahead. It seems to me that those same people are the biggest beneficiaries of the FP+ system too. The people on the Dis who knew when the new ride would be opening and acted quickly are the ones getting the FPs for it. Those guests can spend the weeks leading up to their trips with one less thing to worry about. Although, based on their complaints, I'm sure that some of the FP+ detractors will be upset because FP+ may make it more difficult for them to get TWO rides like they did when they sent one member of the party running to get a FP and the rest of the party to the standby line where the FP runner could push their way past the line to join them after securing the FPs.

Because I don't have a trip planned during that time, I didn't participate in the cyber stampede on Friday. And, I'm sure that I would have been frustrated if I had been part of it. But, if I'm going to be frustrated, I'd rather have it be in the comfort of my home than standing in a crush of people jockeying for position to make a mad dash to a ride. There I would be concerned that I might be physically injured by someone stepping over me to beat me there.

At some point even the posters who spend hours and hours and thousands of posts complaining about the FP+ system are going to have to recognize its benefits and why Disney is putting it in place. As others have said, the new system is not perfect and, even though it continues to improve, it never will be perfect. But, the paper FP system wasn't perfect either and, for a lot more guests than the detractors are willing to admit, the FP+ system is a significant improvement.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

I agree, so nice to read positive experiences-thank you for sharing!!
We rarely stay in the parks after 2-3 (offsite, plus don't want to drain the kids-or DH! )
But your experiences may make us sample a 4th FP if it can allow us to keep a relaxed pass!

 

[wisblue]

We're also here now and have changed FPs numerous times due to the weather and moving our plans around because of it. What I've found is that the FP+ options change right after the parks open in the morning. There might be very few choices the day or night before or even the morning of, until 9 am. Then more times appear.

What we haven't had good luck with yet is getting the FPs we want in a second park, but only because we're looking for the headliners and we don't get to the second park until after dinner. Of course, we never would have been able to get a FP for those attractions under the old system either. If they ever change the system so you can book your 4th FP on your phone rather than from the kiosk, I think we'll be able to to do it with no problem.

Today, the sun is shining! I can' hardly believe it! Of course, we leave tomorrow lol.

To me, the easiest way to address the park hopping issue will be to allow guests to make one or two of their advance FP reservations at a second park, and then allow the guest to get additional FPs after using just one of the 3 advance FPs, not all 3. I think both of those changes will be coming, and there are rumors that they will be coming in the not too distant future. I think it will also be possible to make those additional reservations through the app or website and not just at kiosks.

There have been a number of significant changes and improvements to the system in the few months since the paper FP machines were removed from all the parks. There is no reason to think that there won't be more improvements coming soon.

 

[kharrison705]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post about your experience! We are heading down in July for dd 3rd birthday and I have been a little worried about booking fps and then dd will not want to ride or want something else.....like Dumbo....again. Nice to see that flexibility built into the system with the use of the app. We are also trying to keep this trip more relaxed since it will be the first trip for our dd and we are also bringing my mom who hasn't been since we lived in FL in the mid 90's. I am actually a little hopeful now that I might be able to squeeze in a couple rollercoasters in the evenings using a single fp or the single rider line. I hate the idea of going to MK and not riding SM or AK and not riding EE.

Thanks again!

 

[dislaney]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. This information is very helpful to me!

 

[DisneyPhotographics]

It's amazing how we need to plan our Disney trip, but stressing too much about FastPass+ or wait times can ruin the trip.

Our strategy right now is to do a standy by line after rope drop then do our FP+s in the morning, early afternoon and then get more. This way we do at least 4 big attractions guaranteed without waiting too long.

We can also do standby during parades, fireworks, etc. if we don't have enough FP+s.

But yeah, even with DIsney's wait times in the app and Touring Plans it always seems off. The weather changes or a ride shuts down and then everything goes out the window.

Flex and adapt is how we are doing the next trip, but I don't want to be stressed this time by the crowds. In a way I'm comforted that I know for certain a few things we will do because I could register FP+s in advance.