FP+ - what a pain!

[evilqueenmindy]

My extended family of 9 people are all converging on WDW this weekend. The past 60 days trying to deal with choosing rides in advance has been terrible. The people I am going with truly think I am insane for even asking the question: "Which experience do you want on the Wednesday at Animal Kingdom." I asked that in May!

On another note... Since 2013 I have had 3 My Disney Experience accounts - and DVC dumps my reservations into them randomly. AND I have them all linked together - so I can't easily tell which account is which. One account might have my room reservation, one account could have my ticket, and another could have my dining reservations!

DVC did this to me. They said they couldn't delete accounts.

UNTIL TODAY! I got someone to combine all of my reservations, magic bands, tickets, and rooms into one account. They deleted the other two. MDE and DVC are connected together.

I feel like a free man. I am so happy to not have to deal with this.

So bring on the silly long lines at Pirates of the Caribbean, I am ready.

OMG, The first time we did FP+ in my family, I would have cheerfully murdered all of them and Disney IT because getting 6 adults with varying levels of tech savvy and interest in planning to get an MDE account and get us all linked together, and get everyone's opinions on FP's and still get it all booked. . .was a bit of a challenge. To this day, my BIL has three MDE accounts. So I completely feel your pain.
I will say though, that was when all this was in the testing phase, and now that everyone is linked, I adore FP+. Adore. It. Knowing I have my FP's in place when everyone sleeps late, and I can move or change the FP from this morning to later as I sip my coffee on the couch of the villa, instead of freaking out that we'll be too late to ANYTHING done. It is totally worth the mayhem of the initial setup.

 

[bcrook]

Hold the phone!

I have separate log ins for DVC and MDE. (To be fair, my DVC account either pre-dates MDE I think.)

Did you get that all merged into one magical account?

I still have to link my DVC reservations but assumed that this was because DVC is in its own little Universe.

I remember the days where every single person I ever traveled with was hidden in my Disney file. Why no--that person I traveled with in the early 2000s does not share rooms with me any more. I had so many people. It was crazy.
I think now I can delete them.

YES! Finally, The DVC cast member was able to delete my other two accounts, merge everything into one account. I use the same login and password to get into them both. I don't need to link anything anymore, it happens automatically.

Previously, they told me that they couldn't delete my extra accounts. So this is definite progress. I lucked out and got a great cast member though. I left a raving review on the survey at the end of the call, and after 30 minutes when I checked everything out and it worked - I followed up with an additional email praising Mary!!!

 

[bcrook]

OMG, The first time we did FP+ in my family, I would have cheerfully murdered all of them and Disney IT because getting 6 adults with varying levels of tech savvy and interest in planning to get an MDE account and get us all linked together, and get everyone's opinions on FP's and still get it all booked. . .was a bit of a challenge. To this day, my BIL has three MDE accounts. So I completely feel your pain.
I will say though, that was when all this was in the testing phase, and now that everyone is linked, I adore FP+. Adore. It. Knowing I have my FP's in place when everyone sleeps late, and I can move or change the FP from this morning to later as I sip my coffee on the couch of the villa, instead of freaking out that we'll be too late to ANYTHING done. It is totally worth the mayhem of the initial setup.

I travel with large groups. I was one of the first groups to have magic bands and FP+ through Kidani in 2013. I have magic bands coming out my ears. I still can't get all my friends hooked up correctly. Several have multiple accounts. I still have to manage several different friends for them. But my account is straightened out, so I will sleep tonight before I fly down tomorrow.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

YES! Finally, The DVC cast member was able to delete my other two accounts, merge everything into one account. I use the same login and password to get into them both. I don't need to link anything anymore, it happens automatically.

Previously, they told me that they couldn't delete my extra accounts. So this is definite progress. I lucked out and got a great cast member though. I left a raving review on the survey at the end of the call, and after 30 minutes when I checked everything out and it worked - I followed up with an additional email praising Mary!!!

What magic spell did you cast or....

What did you say? (To get this done.)

Edited for one more question--do you still see all the DVC account stuff?

 

[evilqueenmindy]

I travel with large groups. I was one of the first groups to have magic bands and FP+ through Kidani in 2013. I have magic bands coming out my ears. I still can't get all my friends hooked up correctly. Several have multiple accounts. I still have to manage several different friends for them. But my account is straightened out, so I will sleep tonight before I fly down tomorrow.

Have a marvelous trip, you single MDE Account holder person!

 

[larryz]

My experience: I was a Legacy Fatpass Ninja and never once waited 5 minutes at a FP machine.

That could be a very cool T-shirt.

Especially the Fatpass part...

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Especially the Fatpass part...

I missed that. Lol.

 

[bcrook]

What magic spell did you cast or....

What did you say? (To get this done.)

Edited for one more question--do you still see all the DVC account stuff?

I just told them the mess that I had, and asked them to consolidate them. It worked perfectly.

I have to log into the DVC member page to see my DVC stuff. And I have to log into MDE to see that. BUT all my DVC reservations show up in my MDE without me linking them. Everything is working like it's supposed to be... For now! Let's see what happens when I try to get into my room, use my first "Fatpass", and try to charge. lol.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I just told them the mess that I had, and asked them to consolidate them. It worked perfectly.

I have to log into the DVC member page to see my DVC stuff. And I have to log into MDE to see that. BUT all my DVC reservations show up in my MDE without me linking them. Everything is working like it's supposed to be... For now! Let's see what happens when I try to get into my room, use my first "Fatpass", and try to charge. lol.

That makes sense! I will think about asking once I have confidence that my DVC account page won't spontaneously combust. Had no idea this was a possibility and thank you for sharing this tidbit.

 

[bcrook]

That makes sense! I will think about asking once I have confidence that my DVC account page won't spontaneously combust. Had no idea this was a possibility and thank you for sharing this tidbit.

Until today, I didn't think it was possible either...

 

[Mickey&Mouse]

My experience: I was a Legacy Fatpass Ninja and never once waited 5 minutes at a FP machine. TSMM, Soarin', Test Track, whatever. Never 5 minutes or more. June, July, August, December, crowd levels up to 10.

It was always crowded around certain FP machines, but regardless of how it looked, it never took very long to get the FPs.

Our experience with Legacy FP was the same- perhaps a crowded area overall, but little to no wait actually getting the FP's and typically well under 5 mins. The first FP line we waited in was last month. Any time we went to a FP+ kiosk, there was a line. The FP+ kiosk lines looked long and ended up being long. It's the simplicity with Legacy of putting your ticket in and pulling a FP out, then walking away vs. the current setup of groups standing at a kiosk discussing what to do next over several minutes, multiplied by additional people in line. We were successful in using a FP+ runner though last month. One line was incredibly long and not moving an inch, so he ran to the next closest FP+ kiosk and that line happened to be shorter.

 

[Disneychick75]

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!

Lol, I was the Fast Pass runner for our group and loved it too. Usually, the group consisted of my kids and their friends who loved the coasters. It gave me something to do and helped to walk off meals. FP+, IMO, is great for those who love to sleep in and for those without small children. The good old days

 

[Planogirl]

I don't remember ever waiting very long at the legacy machines. At least not any longer than we had to wait the FP+ kiosks.

It's interesting that so many people delay their fastpasses until evening. That makes sense but we decided to schedule them for around midday so that we could get more once we used those. That worked well at MK and really only at MK. Live and learn.

 

[YawningDodo]

I don't remember ever waiting very long at the legacy machines. At least not any longer than we had to wait the FP+ kiosks.

It's interesting that so many people delay their fastpasses until evening. That makes sense but we decided to schedule them for around midday so that we could get more once we used those. That worked well at MK and really only at MK. Live and learn.

I'm about a week out from picking FP+ for our trip, and I'm trying to decide what angle to take when I discuss our options with my mother. She and I are pretty well opposed to over-planning -- I like knowing what all my options are, so I do a lot of research, but neither of us is interested in being tied down to a schedule (we've only even booked one meal). I figure the freest I can keep us is to just pick a starting park for each day and get the three FP for late morning so we can try to get more in the parks, but the evening strategy is also logical, I suppose. We'll be there in September so I'm hopeful the crowds will be low enough that it won't be a huge deal either way, but I haven't been there in five and a half years so it's not like I have a feel for it anymore.

 

[BagOLaughs]

OMG, The first time we did FP+ in my family, I would have cheerfully murdered all of them and Disney

Haha, this made me lol! I'm so glad I've only got to sort my BF's FP+ out and my own. I couldn't imagine how difficult it was for you.

Another thing that worries me about FP+ is what if it buckets down with rain? What if they close the ride due to a thunder storm. I'll assume they'd honor FP but wouldn't that make the FP line longer?

 

[wisblue]

It's interesting that so many people delay their fastpasses until evening. That makes sense but we decided to schedule them for around midday so that we could get more once we used those. That worked well at MK and really only at MK. Live and learn.

I think the key factor in this is whether someone intends to spend all day in one park.

If I were going to spend all day in one park I would be planning my FPs for late morning or early to mid afternoon so that I would be using them when standby lines are peaking. I would then have the possibility of getting more after using the first 3. As you say, this would be most effective at MK where there is more availability of SDFPs.

But, for people who are planning to hop to a second park, especially after a break away from the parks, I think it makes more sense to use the FP+ reservations at the second park. One exception to that might be if they are hopping to the MK and staying until a park closing of midnight or later. Then it might make sense to use the FP reservations at the first park and rely on SDFPs and the shorter lines in the final hours to enjoy attractions at the MK.

 

[WillAustin]

Especially the Fatpass part...

I'm at WDW now and don't have time to check my spelling.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

Haha, this made me lol! I'm so glad I've only got to sort my BF's FP+ out and my own. I couldn't imagine how difficult it was for you.

Another thing that worries me about FP+ is what if it buckets down with rain? What if they close the ride due to a thunder storm. I'll assume they'd honor FP but wouldn't that make the FP line longer?

trying to explain to everyone why this was necessary after years of never doing this was the worst. I told one of my cousins she wouldn't be able to pick a band color without an account. That was the thing that worked.

if your FP attraction closes you get an alert on your phone, and your FP is now able to be used on any attraction with availability until close. (The email will give you a list. I'm guessing if you don't have a phone a FP+ CM would know what is available) you don't have to do anything, just go to the attraction you want and use your band.
The attraction that broke down is usually on the list as well, so if you want to wait out the closure, you can.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Haha, this made me lol! I'm so glad I've only got to sort my BF's FP+ out and my own. I couldn't imagine how difficult it was for you.

Another thing that worries me about FP+ is what if it buckets down with rain? What if they close the ride due to a thunder storm. I'll assume they'd honor FP but wouldn't that make the FP line longer?

You get a FP good for (almost) any attraction including the one that closes due to weather or malfunction should if reopen. If is open ended on time. Usual suspects such as Mine Train and Soarin' are pretty much never available. It does cause fast pass line surges at some alternate attractions as well as the main attraction when it reopens. Depends on the reason for the closure and whether the attraction may be closed for a long time or not.

Incidentally the same thing (line surge) occurred with legacy, but only at the reopened attraction. What is nice about FP+, at least in MK, is that usually there are good alternatives if you decide to switch.

 

[over50visits]

Yup. The system is clunky in inefficient. I get WHY it's like that (so they can herd folks they way they want). But I don't like it.

The new FP+ system is really great
(1) It's really cool wearing a band all day, no other park offers that experience
(2) You get to decide weeks ahead of time exactly where you will be in a park on your vacation, none of that pesky spontaneity
(3) The kiosks for the legacy FP were way too fast, now you can interact with a CM while they help you navigate the new system
(4) Now you have a FP for a lot of things that you thought were virtual walk ons in the past (such as Pirates). The new system created lines, but you can spend a FP+ on these rides and skip the new lines!
(5) You get the chance to get on the phone for a long time and talk with Disney IT folks when there are problems so you actually have a person to fix things
(6) None of those pesky paper FP to keep track of
(7) Unlike the competition where you can get a blanket unlimited front of line pass, with FP+ you don't have to think about what to do when you get to the park, you just need to follow your prearranged plan
(8) Lots of guests arrive knowing nothing about the FP+, so you get to ride while they have someone explaining it to them
(9) You can get a FP+ to watch fireworks or a parade - you didn't know that in that past you had a lousy view
(10) They allow Disney a lot more control on where we go and what we do, shunting us to formerly underused rides when the FP+ for the better rides are gone
(11) Best of all Disney can now track us in the parks, so they can notify us of ways to spend money, and email us later with pictures for sale!