FP+ trip report and my letter to Disney

[nellanomad]

I just wrote and sent this letter to Disney. All people that have complaints should voice it. Fixes only happen when they hear the masses.

Send emails to: wdw.guest.communications(at)disneyworld.com

I just wanted to reach out to Disney as a regular park visitor from Georgia and also a stock holder. My family took our regular yearly vacation to Disney a couple of weeks ago. As always Disney gets most of our vacation dollars. For many years we felt those dollars were well spent. That has all changed during this last trip. As in many things in this world you are only as good as your last time used.

The problems were that the parks were crazy. I do not think there were extra people in the park but there were people all crammed together. The new fastpass system is complete joke and has created a cheap six flags vibe in your parks. People fighting for machines to book fastpasses and the return lines flooding the park walk ways. This lead to people all jammed together and lead to many people breaking in these crazy lines.

Your employees were also less then thrilled with the situation around the parks. We noticed a huge drop in the attitude of your employees. We had some even tell us that the new systems are a disaster and everybody hates it and they should bring back the old system that worked for all.

We were staying on site so we booked our fastpass and it was ok. The ability to only pick 3 was a joke and really made my kids say that they prefer Universal now. I thought that would never happen. To choose Universal over my favorite place in the world- Disney? Yes, I heard those words and still hearing them. They now want us to go to Universal over Disney on our next trip. My kids loved the ability to control their day by getting fastpass tickets from the old system. It was a game to them and if they were good they got many in a day.

We meet a few couples that were staying offsite while having meals or before parades. They all and I mean all of them said they were done with Disney! They were being treated as second class citizens while paying full price for tickets. Some said they had to wait 1 hr just to book fastpasses and then the ones they needed were gone.

Again, I am writing this a huge fan of Disney. I have made 30+ trips in my 44 years of life. I am also a concerned stock holder. It looks like you lost our family of 5 business and many others that we talked to in the parks. You have handed the biggest gift you could to Universal just down the road. The other problem is my kids telling there friends and this has a huge domino effect.

This may mean nothing to such a large corporation. We may just be a flea on a dog and I can understand that. But if you walked your parks recently and talked to people I think you will see this is all sadly true.

Good luck to you and decisions you make to fix this. I would move fast because you could be sacrificing future generations of potential parents.

 

[Planogirl]

I agree with you that people should let their voices be heard. It might not make a difference but it's certainly the right thing to do.

 

[ethanwa]

Personally I love FP+, but to each his own. Hopefully Disney can find a way to make it better for you.

 

[Golf4283]

Although you have the right to write the letter and good for you for doing so. You need to understand that the masses don't read on this board. This board is a select group of individuals who are more of less "obsessed" with Disney. That's why we come here to post.

I'm not trying to be mean or anything and by all means if people that have used the system had bad experience let Disney know. I'm just saying that the board isn't representative of the masses by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[minnie mum]

Welcome to the Dis. An interesting first post. While I agree with the feelings you have expressed, if you want to be taken seriously, I'd do a little proof reading before sending this off to the PTB at Disney.

 

[JimmyV]

Personally I love FP+, but to each his own. Hopefully Disney can find a way to make it better for you.

Isn't it possible to love FP+ and still hate what it is doing to the Parks visually? Can anyone truly say that they love the fact that thousands of people crowded in lines to use kiosks is a positive change, even if the product that they are receiving from the kiosk is positive? Can anyone truly say that removing thousands of people from cleverly designed queues that hide the masses and moving them out into the unshaded open walking areas of the Parks is a positive change?

 

[JimmyV]

I'm just saying that the board isn't representative of the masses by any stretch of the imagination.

This is true. The "masses", (at lest the off site masses) who were forced to wait an hour for second-level attraction FPs over the crowded President's Day weekend were far, far more critical of and disappointed with FP+ than this Board could ever dream of being. This Board has a pretty high acceptance rate of FP+. The people I met and spoke with while I was there, (and the OP seems to have had the same experience) are highly critical of this new system to the point of never wanting to do it again. And none of them participate on this Board.

 

[wordwitt]

Welcome to the Dis. An interesting first post. While I agree with the feelings you have expressed, if you want to be taken seriously, I'd do a little proof reading before sending this off to the PTB at Disney.

I agree with this. Also, it's not enough to pay attention to just the grammar and spelling; the tone is also important. IMO, if the author of a complaint letter wishes to have his or her concerns taken seriously, the tone of the letter should be business-like and non-emotional.

 

[Pkltm]

Let us know if they respond

 

[DebbieB]

I just wrote and sent this letter to Disney. All people that have complaints should voice it. Fixes only happen when they hear the masses.

Send emails to: wdw.guest.communications(at)disneyworld.com

I just wanted to reach out to Disney as a regular park visitor from Georgia and also a stock holder. My family took our regular yearly vacation to Disney a couple of weeks ago. As always Disney gets most of our vacation dollars. For many years we felt those dollars were well spent. That has all changed during this last trip. As in many things in this world you are only as good as your last time used.

The problems were that the parks were crazy. I do not think there were extra people in the park but there were people all crammed together. The new fastpass system is complete joke and has created a cheap six flags vibe in your parks. People fighting for machines to book fastpasses and the return lines flooding the park walk ways. This lead to people all jammed together and lead to many people breaking in these crazy lines.

Your employees were also less then thrilled with the situation around the parks. We noticed a huge drop in the attitude of your employees. We had some even tell us that the new systems are a disaster and everybody hates it and they should bring back the old system that worked for all.

We were staying on site so we booked our fastpass and it was ok. The ability to only pick 3 was a joke and really made my kids say that they prefer Universal now. I thought that would never happen. To choose Universal over my favorite place in the world- Disney? Yes, I heard those words and still hearing them. They now want us to go to Universal over Disney on our next trip. My kids loved the ability to control their day by getting fastpass tickets from the old system. It was a game to them and if they were good they got many in a day.

We meet a few couples that were staying offsite while having meals or before parades. They all and I mean all of them said they were done with Disney! They were being treated as second class citizens while paying full price for tickets. Some said they had to wait 1 hr just to book fastpasses and then the ones they needed were gone.

Again, I am writing this a huge fan of Disney. I have made 30+ trips in my 44 years of life. I am also a concerned stock holder. It looks like you lost our family of 5 business and many others that we talked to in the parks. You have handed the biggest gift you could to Universal just down the road. The other problem is my kids telling there friends and this has a huge domino effect.

This may mean nothing to such a large corporation. We may just be a flea on a dog and I can understand that. But if you walked your parks recently and talked to people I think you will see this is all sadly true.

Good luck to you and decisions you make to fix this. I would move fast because you could be sacrificing future generations of potential parents.

What were the dates you were there? I would include that.

 

[Dave2425]

Personally I love FP+, but to each his own.

Me too. I used FP+ for the first time on 2/21 & 2/22 at MK and absolutely loved it. It's a great improvement over the previous system.

 

[ethanwa]

Isn't it possible to love FP+ and still hate what it is doing to the Parks visually? Can anyone truly say that they love the fact that thousands of people crowded in lines to use kiosks is a positive change, even if the product that they are receiving from the kiosk is positive? Can anyone truly say that removing thousands of people from cleverly designed queues that hide the masses and moving them out into the unshaded open walking areas of the Parks is a positive change?

Sure, there are kinks and I am positive Disney will work them out, like long queues on busy days (which are days when I avoid the parks anyway). 95% of the time I am there, the queues for FP+ are short.

I am a local AP holder but I have 60-day booking with a MagicBand. I anticipate that when they give that ability to all AP holders and others, the lines for the kiosks will drop off a bit.

But those are issues that WILL be fixed by Disney, it's just going to take time in my opinion. The full rollout is probably only 50% done (no AP holders, no offsite, etc). It's like the eyesore of the walls around the new Mine Cart ride... some are down but not all of them. But it's all temporary.

I still love FP+. The issues that you mention either don't affect me or don't bother me. And I have confidence things will get better when the rollout is complete.

 

[JimmyV]

Sure, there are kinks and I am positive Disney will work them out, like long queues on busy days ...But those are issues that WILL be fixed by Disney, it's just going to take time in my opinion. ...But it's all temporary.

I guess this is the difference between what one might perceive as being natural evolution of a new system and another might perceive as a response to guests' reactions. The OP is simply pointing out that they found numerous flaws in the system, (many of which you acknowledge) and that they brought them to the attention to Disney by sending a message. It sounds as if you too see some "blips" but hope or expect that they will disappear organically. I like the OP's approach and have done likewise.

 

[minnie mum]

Sure, there are kinks and I am positive Disney will work them out, like long queues on busy days (which are days when I avoid the parks anyway). 95% of the time I am there, the queues for FP+ are short.

I am a local AP holder but I have 60-day booking with a MagicBand. I anticipate that when they give that ability to all AP holders and others, the lines for the kiosks will drop off a bit.

But those are issues that WILL be fixed by Disney, it's just going to take time in my opinion. The full rollout is probably only 50% done (no AP holders, no offsite, etc). It's like the eyesore of the walls around the new Mine Cart ride... some are down but not all of them. But it's all temporary.

I still love FP+. The issues that you mention either don't affect me or don't bother me. And I have confidence things will get better when the rollout is complete.

Surely even you have to admit that AT THE PRESENT TIME the optics surrounding this mess are awful. RIGHT NOW, and for the foreseeable future, those lines are long. At least half of all guests ( those staying off site) are being treated like second class citizens. People who CAN use the system are being frustrated by glitches.

We have been hearing for well over a year that this is all temporary. I keep hearing people say that restrictions on FP+ usage will disappear (but never has this come from an official source). That these kinks will all be worked out. WHEN?? So how long is "temporary"? How far into the future are all of the guests who are currently impacted supposed to wait for all these fixes?. Just how patient and accepting are they supposed to be?

You are extremely fortunate that none of these "issues" have bothered or affected you. I would suggest that those visitors who have sunk thousands of dollars into a vacation hundreds of miles from home might indeed feel bothered and affected.

 

[ethanwa]

That's fine, you guys can have your opinions. I think it could be awful for SOME people... and that person is not me. I have sent them an email saying "thanks for FP+, we love it" (paraphrased). It's good that they hear both sides... the negative AND the positive.

 

[*disgal*]

Me too. I used FP+ for the first time on 2/21 & 2/22 at MK and absolutely loved it. It's a great improvement over the previous system.

Good for you, op. I wouldn't care if I were a flea or not. Whatever.

My family will see what we think in April of this new system but here is my question.....I just don't see how anyone can say it is an improvement. I'm not trying to be snarky, I sincerely don't know.

Now, below is how my family has toured before. And we have gone at the busiest weeks for WDW and it didn't make a difference. We are RD people though.

Before/no limit to fastpasses, it was first come first serve. If they were available, you got 'em.

Before/you could get more than 1 for the same ride.

Before/you could get a fastpass for all the big rides. No tiering.

After/none of the above can happen.

How is this an improvement for me again?

 

[kidd_freeper]

Thank you for taking the time to express your opinion to WDW for us.

 

[*disgal*]

I guess this is the difference between what one might perceive as being natural evolution of a new system and another might perceive as a response to guests' reactions. The OP is simply pointing out that they found numerous flaws in the system, (many of which you acknowledge) and that they brought them to the attention to Disney by sending a message. It sounds as if you too see some "blips" but hope or expect that they will disappear organically. I like the OP's approach and have done likewise.

agree. I love Disney. I mean, I LOVE Disney. But if anyone thinks Disney makes changes to make things better just "because", they are crazy. It's either because they are losing money on it or the customer is unhappy about whatever and Disney will therefore lose money in the future by that customer not returning. It's only good business sense to want to know if your customers are happy or not. (and I'm a business owner)

 

[JimmyV]

How is this an improvement for me again?

Here is how it is an improvement.

DD: "Dad: Can we have a character breakfast at the Poly on the day we go to DHS? That park doesn't seem like a full day park for us, so maybe that would be a good day to have a nice breakfast."

Dad: "I don't think so. If you kids want to ride Toy Story Mania, we have to get there real early. The Fast Passes will be gone by 10:30 and the standby line will be 90 minutes or more if we arrive at 10:00.

DS: "But Dad, we like doing both. Can't we have both a fun breakfast and do the Toy Story ride?"

Dad: "Sorry kids. It's one or the other."

Under the new system, (assuming you are staying on site), you book your 'Ohana breakfast 180 days out (or 180+10) and you book your TSM FP return 60 days out and you get to do both. Disney wants you to start enjoying more of what it offers and not just ride the same things over and over again.

 

[dwheaton]

Under the new system, (assuming you are staying on site), you book your 'Ohana breakfast 180 days out (or 180+10) and you book your TSM FP return 60 days out and you get to do both. Disney wants you to start enjoying more of what it offers and not just ride the same things over and over again.

I was with you until the last line. Disney doesn't care about guests enjoying more of what it offers. It's about the bottom line. If they really wanted to spread guests out, they'd make upgrades to dated attractions. That would push people to visit them. This is just another well to drive on-site hotel occupancy, track guest habits (I'm okay with this BTW), and make more money.