FP+ - what a pain!

[Mouse of Mystery]

I can go to one park in the morning, knowing that I have already secured afternoon/evening fast passes for another park later that day. In the past, I might have spent part of the day at MK, and then hopped over to EPCOT only to learn that none of the rides I wanted to go on had any fast passes left for the day.

We did this a couple of days, and also spent a few mornings at the resort pool and evenings in a park. I would never want to have to go back to a system that required me to run around grabbing FP when I can just take care of it online before I go.

The initial selection process could certainly be a little easier than it is currently, but once it's done I don't have to worry about it anymore. I don't see planning three ride times 60 days out as being a huge burden -- it's 3 rides! Likely those are three rides your family doesn't want to miss and pinpointing three times in one day to hit those highlights seems a whole lot more like a benefit than a planning nightmare!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

It is a pain and counter intuitive. But we do enjoy FP+ and I have gotten quick about switching things around. Did not think to book all 3 at the wrong time of day (say PM if I want AM). That will speed things up.

 

[Andtototoo]

I'm not a fan of planning when I will ride a 3 minute attraction 60 days out either.

As for making the actual process a little less clunky, the best advice is to accept times the opposite time of day from what you really want, then change to the preferred times. That means what you are changing from has the least chance of conflicting of what you want to change to.

Yes, it is absolutely counterintuitive.

It's a good tip, but it points out how lacking in customer service and quality guest experience the new system is. It's ridiculous that you have to do the opposite of what you should to get what you want. I shouldn't have to do all this research to go on a ride on vacation, IMO.

 

[mickeymom629]

It's a good tip, but it points out how lacking in customer service and quality guest experience the new system is. It's ridiculous that you have to do the opposite of what you should to get what you want. I shouldn't have to do all this research to go on a ride on vacation, IMO.

I haven't used the new system yet but, as others pointed out here, maybe non-obsessive people (those not on the DIS ) will take what Disney spews out and be happy with what they get. It's those of who want to really create a plan who have a few extra steps to take, and luckily there is a way to work around it. I'll be curious how I feel when I start getting FP+ for my trip in January. I really loved the old fp system and I was the runner! I am not into the thrill rides and I love getting exercise, so I didn't mind at all!

 

[DisneyFive]

In my perfect plan we'd plan 3 and pull the others while in a park from a machine.

Funny you say that. This is exactly how it was back in September 2012 (or maybe September 2013) can't remember. FP+ was almost fully rolled out, so we got to do that, but legacy FP was also around, so we could do that too. It was awesome. To be honest though, we hardly pulled any paper FP's because 1) it is a slow time of the year and standby waits were minimal in a lot of cases, 2) The FP+ was good enough (this was before tiering at HS and EP so we could FP+ both Soarin and Test Track on the same day for example.)

For me, the tiered system at EP and HS are the bane of FP+!

Dan

 

[AngiTN]

Funny you say that. This is exactly how it was back in September 2012 (or maybe September 2013) can't remember. FP+ was almost fully rolled out, so we got to do that, but legacy FP was also around, so we could do that too. It was awesome. To be honest though, we hardly pulled any paper FP's because 1) it is a slow time of the year and standby waits were minimal in a lot of cases, 2) The FP+ was good enough (this was before tiering at HS and EP so we could FP+ both Soarin and Test Track on the same day for example.)

For me, the tiered system at EP and HS are the bane of FP+!

Dan

Yes, that was the way it worked in the transition time. Which tells me that they aren't ever going to my dream method. If they liked it they would have kept it then. This current system seems to be the one Disney feels is working best.
Until they get more rides at Epcot and HS I don't see the Tiers going away either. It's the only way they can ration FP, for now.
If they can make any change the one I'd like would be to make our additional FP on our phones vs. the kiosk only. I do have hopes for that eventually.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

As for making the actual process a little less clunky, the best advice is to accept times the opposite time of day from what you really want, then change to the preferred times. That means what you are changing from has the least chance of conflicting of what you want to change to.

Yep, I figured that out a little too late! What I ended up doing because I had already made my choices was make 1 of the 3 at the opposite time we wanted and that left me more wiggle room with the other 2. Of course then I had to go back and change the first one another time...

I think it works out great when park hopping: I can go to one park in the morning, knowing that I have already secured afternoon/evening fast passes for another park later that day. In the past, I might have spent part of the day at MK, and then hopped over to EPCOT only to learn that none of the rides I wanted to go on had any fast passes left for the day.

I agree. We used to get hoppers and do the EE park in the morning then go to a less crowded park in the evening. My point was that now I don't have to pay for hoppers because I can get FP+ in the evening at the same park I am at in the am. For us there is no sense in spending money when we don't need to hop.

 

[itchin2go]

I haven't used the new system yet but, as others pointed out here, maybe non-obsessive people (those not on the DIS ) will take what Disney spews out and be happy with what they get. It's those of who want to really create a plan who have a few extra steps to take, and luckily there is a way to work around it. I'll be curious how I feel when I start getting FP+ for my trip in January. I really loved the old fp system and I was the runner! I am not into the thrill rides and I love getting exercise, so I didn't mind at all!

Responding to the bolded: Me too! We experienced FP+ this past November, and I have to say, I did not miss being the runner. I still walked around while the rest of my family was riding, but I was free to do other stuff ... namely shop and try to switch around FPs on my phone. And I didn't hate being the runner before ... at all, so I thought I might miss it. Not so.

I have issues with the new system, but having the "runner" portion removed from the equation is not one of them.

 

[grecorj]

We used FP+ in the fall of 2013 when it was just for resort guests. The system of making the FP+ was a little complicated, but not as bad as it was this morning at 5 am. The times you can choose from are nothing close to what we want, so I had to go back and edit each FP+ we made. The order wasn't what I would choose either, so that complicated changing the times even more. 35 min to choose 5 days of FPs is crazy. I guess the system works for people who 1. want to arrive at the park later in the day or
2. spend the entire day at one park. In a way it's saving me money. We used to buy hoppers and now won't. The old system had us spending more time at the park and eating there, now we will go for rope drop, go back to FW for lunch/dinner, and use our FP+ when we return in the evening.

Either way, I hate having to plan 60 days out which rides at which parks we are going to want to do.

I'm a little surprised at your post, esp. the part I bolded.

You seem to have been around the Disboards for 15 years and have contributed 1000+ posts.

How in the world did you miss @mesaboy2 's post here??? http://www.disboards.com/threads/fa...ed-priorities-and-strategies-part-ii.3326057/

It gives you all the info and explanation you'd need regarding making FP+ selections at the 60 day mark, including the strategy of what times to select to ultimately get the times you want (i.e. picking times furthest from your desired part of the day).

I followed his instructions at the 60 day mark and got exactly what I wanted for this last week of June. And for at least a week after that I played around with the times.

HIGHLY recommended reading for those making FP+ selections at 60 or 30 day marks.

FP+ worked well for our group, sorry it didn't for you.

 

[ppony]

Words cannot adequately express how much I loathe the new system (and other changes to WDW). After over 20+ years of exclusive FL/Disney trips, we're now going to look elsewhere. Sure, we'll still do Disney, but far more abbreviated visits. I want my sanity to run out at the END of the trip, not less than half way through it.

 

[cakebaker]

I agree. We used to get hoppers and do the EE park in the morning then go to a less crowded park in the evening. My point was that now I don't have to pay for hoppers because I can get FP+ in the evening at the same park I am at in the am. For us there is no sense in spending money when we don't need to hop.

We've always park hopped and found it works so much better now due to being able to actually ride headliners at parks like epcot and HS in the evening.

For us, the advantage is we can do lots of mornings at the MK using no fps at all, then catch the headliners there on just a couple of evening trips. Because we can now get headliners late in the day at Epcot and HS, we focus evenings there riding things we never could before .

There are a lot of different ways to accomplish the same thing, but for us, FP+ makes hopping much more useful.

 

[Nancyg56]

You could look at it the way my husband pointed out to me....it probably would have taken you (or someone else in your party) a lot longer than 35 minutes to run around the park trying to get same day Legacy Fast Passes for your family, not knowing if they would be available (or what return time you would get) once you crossed the park to put your tickets in the machines.



It's all in how you look at it.

For the most part, I agree with you. Last October, I had my maps of each park out, trying to plan a touring strategy, which we NEVER do. I cam up with my FP plan, moaning and groaning the entire time I was studying the maps, checking our plans in Touring Plans, optimizing and changing. Finally my daughter said, enough! You won't have Jeff to run for your passes, and you know that you have what you have when you arrive. Weight off of my shoulders! I had turned a fairly simple process into a planning nightmare.

This trip they are all made, all in one area or another, and it's done. WE now know that we have passes for attractions that are important to us, band if we miss our window, well....they were never promised in FP-. And no runner to send off all alone hoping to snap up a favorite at a time we can be happy with! LOL!

 

[wisblue]

I totally get that sentiment with RSR. But I would not be willing to trade the great availability of FPs at DL to get it. On balance, I'll take the DL system any day of the week. We got FPs for Indy at 4 in the afternoon on Candlelight Processional weekend. That sort of thing gets much harder to accomplish under FP+.

Of course, experiences vary significantly depending on time of year and crowd level, both at WDW and DLR.

That "great availability" of FPs just isn't there at DLR for people who have no choice but to visit at holiday times.

The crowd is a much bigger factor in FP availability than the system in place.

 

[mom2rtk]

Of course, experiences vary significantly depending on time of year and crowd level, both at WDW and DLR.

That "great availability" of FPs just isn't there at DLR for people who have no choice but to visit at holiday times.

The crowd is a much bigger factor in FP availability than the system in place.

The example I used was from Candlelight weekend, a very heavy crowd weekend at DLR.

If I recall properly, you were there over Christmas break. I'd be careful extrapolating that limited and very unique experience to other times of the year.

 

[crostorfer]

I miss when my daughter was younger, and I could take her in September when fastpasses weren't so essential. When you go at peak time, like at fall break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break, which are our only options now with a middle-schooler, the whole, "We go at rope drop and ride 10 things in the first two hours" motto doesn't apply. Rope drop during peak time is worse than mid-day in late August or September. That mantra doesn't fit year-round. Some rides are over an hour wait by 9:15 on a 9am opening day.

 

[wisblue]

The example I used was from Candlelight weekend, a very heavy crowd weekend at DLR.

If I recall properly, you were there over Christmas break. I'd be careful extrapolating that limited and very unique experience to other times of the year.

I am not extrapolating our experience to other times of year. I just think it is very important to recognize that experiences vary significantly based on crowds.

You said you got FPs for Indy at 4 PM. I can tell you that that would not have been possible on the days we visited. So, either the crowd on the day you were there was not anywhere near as large as the week between Christmas and New Year's, or you got lucky.

On our trip, we went directly to Indy when they opened that part of the park at 8 AM to get FPs. But, because the ride was down at opening they weren't issuing FPs yet. When we came back past the area about 9 AM we had to stand in a line for about 15 minutes to get FPs with a return time of about 11:30. That was a lot more trouble than picking out a time from the comfort of home.

 

[mom2rtk]

I am not extrapolating our experience to other times of year. I just think it is very important to recognize that experiences vary significantly based on crowds.

You said you got FPs for Indy at 4 PM. I can tell you that that would not have been possible on the days we visited. So, either the crowd on the day you were there was not anywhere near as large as the week between Christmas and New Year's, or you got lucky.

On our trip, we went directly to Indy when they opened that part of the park at 8 AM to get FPs. But, because the ride was down at opening they weren't issuing FPs yet. When we came back past the area about 9 AM we had to stand in a line for about 15 minutes to get FPs with a return time of about 11:30. That was a lot more trouble than picking out a time from the comfort of home.

Well sure, even I would trade standing in a 15 minute line for doing something at home on my computer. And most people would choose to schedule by computer over dealing with getting a FP in the park for TSMM. But you have to consider the whole package, including the limitations that come with that. I understand that you like that whole package, and I'm sure you know that I don't.

I think even you will agree that standing in a 15 minute line to get a paper FP was not typical.

 

[wisblue]

Well sure, even I would trade standing in a 15 minute line for doing something at home on my computer. And most people would choose to schedule by computer over dealing with getting a FP in the park for TSMM. But you have to consider the whole package, including the limitations that come with that. I understand that you like that whole package, and I'm sure you know that I don't.

I think even you will agree that standing in a 15 minute line to get a paper FP was not typical.

Do you think your FP experience at DLR on the CP weekend was typical?

 

[mom2rtk]

Do you think your FP experience at DLR on the CP weekend was typical?

My point was that it should have been worse than typical and it still worked well for us.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I totally get that sentiment with RSR. But I would not be willing to trade the great availability of FPs at DL to get it. On balance, I'll take the DL system any day of the week. We got FPs for Indy at 4 in the afternoon on Candlelight Processional weekend. That sort of thing gets much harder to accomplish under FP+.

That's pretty impressive. Was the ride time 4 or the machine giving out 4pm Fastpasses? What time did you have to get them from the machines?

We look forward to a DL trip in a couple of years. Had to cancel one a few years back.